📸 PhotoPhoto: Jmalik ( talk ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Painted Turtle
Chrysemys picta (Painted Turtle · ニシキガメ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its average mass of 57.5 g is about the weight of a chicken egg, and its maximum length of 25 cm is slightly shorter than the long side of an A4 sheet (about 30 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 It is often used for educational purposes and makes an excellent pet when given proper care (benefit to humans noted by ADW).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Painted Turtle is a brightly patterned freshwater turtle living in quiet lakes, ponds, and rivers of North America. Its IUCN status is Least Concern (LC) as of 2011.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its carapace is relatively flat with red and yellow markings on a black or greenish-brown background. Because its ribs are fused to the shell, it cannot expand its chest and instead pumps air in and out using its flank and shoulder muscles.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
An omnivore that eats plants, small fish, crustaceans, aquatic insects, and occasional carrion, it is more carnivorous when young. By day up to 50 individuals may stack on a single log to bask in the sun, and in winter they hibernate in the mud.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2011) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/163467/97410447
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 5YKRV
- • iucnredlist.org — 97410447
- • wikidata.org — Q199203
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Painted turtle.jpg
- • animaldiversity.org — Chrysemys picta
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Andy Wilson · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.