Tag Archives: red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

A few of my favorite things #9

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Turtles.  All sorts of turtles.  Because turtles are cool, especially if you can get them to sit still long enough to capture a respectable photo.

Texas river cooter (Pseudemys texana) perched on a log (2009_02_01_005696)
Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) sunning on a debris pile (2009_03_08_012937)
Female river cooter (Pseudemys concinna) building a nest (2009_06_07_022723)
Male three-toed box turtle (Terrapene carolina triunguis) sitting in the middle of a trail (IMG_2082)
Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) crossing a dirt road (IMG_2257)
Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) on the side of the road (IMG_2447)

That last photo gives me the willies.  Why?  Here, take a closer look.

Close-up of a red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) with mosquitoes covering its head (IMG_2444_c)

By my count, there are six mosquitoes visible on this side alone.  What about the other side?

Worse still, other than retracting its head and hoping for the best, what defense does a turtle have when it comes to mosquitoes?  From this image, I’d say none.  And boy does that make me itch.

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Photos:

  1. Texas river cooter (Pseudemys texana) perched on a log
  2. Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) sunning on a debris pile
  3. Female river cooter (Pseudemys concinna) building a nest
  4. Male three-toed box turtle (Terrapene carolina triunguis) sitting in the middle of a trail
  5. Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) crossing a dirt road
  6. Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) on the side of the road
  7. Close-up of a red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) with mosquitoes covering its head

Fuzzy turtle travelin’

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In June 2009, during a walk at White Rock Lake, I stood on the footbridge spanning the inlet to Heron Bay (the lagoon behind the paddle boat house).  Sweat ran down every part of my body as I stood smothered in Texas summer: oppressive heat and humidity.  I had already decided to get in the car and go home, if for no other reason than to turn on the air conditioning in the car before I melted into a puddle.

Walking across the bridge, I noticed something swimming near the surface.  It paused even as I turned to snap a few photos.  It turned out to be a red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) with algae growing on its shell.  Yet I forgot about the photos, something I do often considering the volume of pictures I take.  It wasn’t until April 2010 when I stumbled across those pictures again and posted about the fuzzy turtle.  I included this photograph:

A red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) with algae on its shell (2009_06_21_024620)

That happens to be a crop of a larger image.  Here’s the original:

A red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) with algae on its shell (2009_06_21_024620 original)

As has been the case with every photo I’ve licensed, I gave nary a thought to the image after I posted it.  Then in October 2010 I received an e-mail that said, in part,

I have seen your photos of a turtle covered with algae on the web (‘fuzzy turtle, april 15, 2010). The algal growth represents one of the algal species (Basicladia spp.) I have been working on during my PhD, which I just completed as a draft. I would like to use the image of the turtle for the introduction chapter of my PhD thesis (Leiden University, the Netherlands)…

Of course I was interested.  When contacted about licensing a photograph, anything for nonprofit, conservation, education and/or science garners my immediate interest.  And it helped to see this in the initial request: “I would send you a copy of the book once it’s printed.”  I always like to see how my work is used and I appreciate that consideration being understood, especially when it’s understood at the time the initial request is sent.

I eventually agreed to the request and sent the original unadulterated image file.  It seemed my fuzzy turtle was traveling to the Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity Naturalis.  And I never asked if it spoke Dutch before I shipped it overseas.

Only a month after originally contacting me, Christian sent a new request.  Though originally intended as the introductory image for the first chapter, she said she liked the image more than expected and wanted to use it on the book’s cover instead.  She wanted to be certain that was OK with me.  Um, let me think about that.  YES!

Then less than two months after she originally contacted me, Christian sent another e-mail, this time asking for my mailing address.  I was excited.  I couldn’t wait to see the book, to hold it in my grimy paws, to read it with that inner tickle that screamed, “Hey, dude!  Your frackin’ photo is on the cover!  Look!  Look!  Loooooook!”

After enough of our ice storm double whammy melted last week and it was safe enough to walk to the mailbox, I was pleasantly surprised to find a package from the Netherlands.  And inside the package: a copy of “Phylogenetic, taxonomic and biogeographical studies in the Pithophoraceae (Cladophorales, Chlorophyta)” by Christian Böedeker.

Cover of 'Phylogenetic, taxonomic and biogeographical studies in the Pithophoraceae (Cladophorales, Chlorophyta)' by Christian Boedeker featuring a photograph of mine on the cover (HPIM0034)

That photo scarcely does the book justice (photography isn’t my strength at the moment, I assure you).  The cover has an underlying color scheme that makes it look like it’s painted on canvas, thus giving it great visual texture.

But what about the contents?  Oh, it’s a delightfully heavy bit of science that made for a wonderful read.  And when I say a heavy bit of science, I mean that in the most complimentary way.  Christian has done some fantastic work in an area that lacked serious study, and her book shows just how much this science was needed.  To wit (from the back cover):

The confused taxonomy of the Aegagropila-clade was clarified using methods of molecular phylogenetic inference, resulting in the re-instatement of the Pithophoraceae, descriptions of two new genera and several nomenclatural changes.

With ample color images, maps, tables and illustrations to complement hundreds of pages of research, I feel a great deal of pride seeing my photograph on the cover.  As science is a dear passion of mine, licensing this photo gave me satisfaction beyond measure.

I’m eternally grateful to Christian Böedeker for contacting me and letting me play a small part in her work.  I’m also thankful for her consideration in sending me a copy of the book once completed.  Of all the photos I’ve licensed to date, this one has the most meaning.

Logjams

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Like bumper-to-bumper rush hour in Dallas.

A pallid spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera pallida) on the right end of the log with red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans) and river cooters (Pseudemys sp. or spp.) (2009_06_06_022407)

Even if temperatures are cool bordering on cold, a sunny day brings the turtles out en masse.  Any perch above the water becomes a turtle logjam.

A pallid spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera pallida) and some red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans) and what might be a river cooter (Pseudemys sp.) (2009_06_06_022407_c)

The species can be quite diverse, from softshells to cooters to sliders to anything else that finds room.

A pallid spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera pallida) on the left, one obvious red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) atop another turtle, and what could be either red-eared sliders or river cooters (Pseudemys sp.) (2009_06_21_024632)

And when there’s no more room on the log, there’s always room to climb atop another turtle.

A Texas river cooter (Pseudemys texana) on the right, an eastern river cooter (Pseudemys concinna) in the middle and a red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) on the left (2009_10_17_031943)

Everyone gets along if everyone gets some sunshine.

A baby red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) sunning atop an adult (2009_06_21_024674)

And if you’re lucky, you can find synchronized sunning like this pair, both of whom have their back legs stretched out and their heads held up.

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Photos:

[1] A pallid spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera pallida) on the right end of the log with red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans) and river cooters (Pseudemys sp. or spp.).

[2] A crop of the first image, hence the poor quality.  Shows a better view of the pallid spiny softshell turtle and some of the red-eared sliders; the turtle nearest the softshell might be a river cooter (Pseudemys sp.).

[3] A pallid spiny softshell turtle on the left, one obvious red-eared slider atop another turtle, and what could be either red-eared sliders or river cooters.

[4] A Texas river cooter (Pseudemys texana) on the right, an eastern river cooter (Pseudemys concinna) in the middle and a red-eared slider on the left.  Also note the red-eared slider in the lower-left corner of the frame.  (The water and turtles are covered with duckweed.)

[5] A baby red-eared slider resting atop an adult.

Note that differentiating the eastern river cooter from the Texas river cooter can be impossible without a clear view of the head pattern and shell pattern, and even then variability can lead to poor identifications.  Red-eared sliders can be confused with either species if the red patches are not visible.

Some male red-eared sliders become melanistic as they grow older; this causes their skin to lose all colors except green and the green becomes darker as they age, hence they can be difficult to identify from a distance (see the first photo in this post for an example where the “red ears” have been reduced to negligible red spots and all the yellow has been lost).

International Day for Biological Diversity 2010

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A melanistic male red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) sunning on a log (2009_07_25_027811)

Today, May 22, 2010, is the International Day for Biological Diversity.  I began this post with the idea of celebrating the day by offering various examples of nature’s beauty.  But then I realized ‘celebrate’ connotes a positive meaning that hardly seems appropriate.  Why?  This year the International Day of Biological Diversity comes on the heels of a very disconcerting study:

In 2002, world leaders committed through the Convention on Biological Diversity to achieve a significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. We compiled 31 indicators to report on progress toward this target. Most indicators of the state of biodiversity showed declines, with no significant recent reductions in rate, whereas indicators of pressures on biodiversity showed increases. Despite some local successes and increasing responses, the rate of biodiversity loss does not appear to be slowing.

A common meadow katydid (Orchelimum vulgare) resting on a leaf (2009_10_03_030227)

At present, nearly 100 species of plant and animal combined go extinct during every 24-hour period.  That equates to more than 35,000 species every year.  And despite promises to address the causes and take action to reverse trends, governments and people as a whole have actually increased pressure on nature rather than decreasing it.  Scientists call this the Holocene extinction, an ongoing mass extinction event.  Whether or not it should be called the Anthropocene extinction is irrelevant; that humans are the only hope for stopping it is what matters.

A great egret (Ardea alba) standing in a lagoon (2009_09_05_028720)

“Going green” seems like a badge people wear so they can be patted on the back and congratulated for their foresight and compassion.  Changing a light bulb helps, but changing our governments and our attitudes will make the only real differences.  Will your grandchildren think of elephants in the same way we think of the Carolina parakeet?  Will their grandchildren think of rusty blackbirds the same way our children think of the Tasmanian tiger?  Will future generations think of the Arctic in terms of open water or endless seas of ice?  Only time will tell.

A brick cap (Hypholoma sublateritium) that began drying out before it matured (2010_04_10_052872)

Biological diversity is a giant web.  As each strand breaks, the entire web becomes more unstable.  We scarcely can think ourselves immune to the effects of the slow-motion downfall of this massive interconnected system.  It feeds us, it clothes us, it shelters us, and it heals us.  But once the web no longer can support itself, we fall with the rest of it.  I wonder if it will be too late before people understand that.

Canada wildrye (Elymus canadensis) blowing in the wind (2010_04_10_053186)

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Photos:

[1] Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans); admittedly the darkest melanistic male I’ve ever photographed, which makes him the oldest melanistic male I’ve ever photographed

[2] Common meadow katydid (Orchelimum vulgare)

[3] Great egret (Ardea alba)

[4] Brick cap (Hypholoma sublateritium); the mushroom did not mature before succumbing to our lack of rain this spring

[5] Canada wildrye (Elymus canadensis)

[I usually do not preach.  In fact, over the years I’ve grown increasingly adverse to doing so.  I will draw attention to someone else’s preaching if I feel the subject worthy of attention (preaching by proxy).  But sometimes things hit me just right and I have to say something.  This is just such a time because this subject is critically important and is something about which I am quite passionate.]

Fuzzy turtle

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After photographing some impressive turtle logjams, I walked across the bridge spanning the inlet to the heron bay.  And there beneath me was this fuzzy turtle.

A red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) with algae on its shell (2009_06_21_024620)

OK, it’s just a red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) with algae on its shell, but doesn’t it look all cuddly and cute with that green coif?

A red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) with algae on its shell (2009_06_21_024622)

The interesting bit is that turtles come out of winter hibernation with algae, then it clears off as they spend more time out of the water soaking up sunshine.  But then when it gets hot—like summer hot—the algae starts to grow back because they spend less time out of the water.

It’s like a seasonal wig.