Common LowCountry Turtles and Tortoises

Turtles and toroises are a group of reptiles with a bony shell. The carapace is the top shell and the plastron is the bottom shell. The carapace in most turtles is covered in plates called scutes. These are the most common Lowcountry species. If a species does not fit into these categories, please visit the herpetology page of the Savannah River Ecology Lab for further identification help. Pet species of turtles and tortoises are not covered in this guide.

1. Does the turtle have a hinged plastron? Click here

2. Does the turtle have a solid plastron? Click here

3. Does the turtle have a domed (high and rounded) carapace, often with yellow or orange markings? Eastern box turtle

4. Is the carapace domed but streamlined; usually a muddy brown in color? Click here.

5. Does it have stripes on its face? Click here.

6. Is its face plain brown? Eastern mud turtle.

7. Does it prominant yellow stripes on the head and does it have a bad odor when handled? Musk turtle

8. Does it have a single light stripe between the eye and the nostril? Striped mud turtle.

9. Is it a large land animal, with a domed (high and rounded) carapace and unwebbed feet? Gopher tortoise.

10. If it is more streamlined and aquatic, click here.

11. Is it a huge turtle with flippers found in saltwater or on a sandy beach, Click here.

12. If has legs with webbed feet instead of flippers, click here.

13. Does it have a hard shell? Loggerhead sea turtle.

14. Does it have a smooth, leathery shell? Leatherback sea turtle.

15. Does it have a pointed nose and a very flat shell with no scutes? Click here.

16. If it has a hard shell, click here.

17. Does it have small projections on its shell? Spiny Shoftshell

18. Does it have a smooth shell? Florida Softshell

19. Does it have pointed scutes and spotted skin? Diamondback Terrapin.

20. Does it have a dark shell with yellow or orange spots? Spotted Turtle.

22. Does it have a long neck and tail, with a plastron that looks too small for its body? Snapping Turtle.

21. Does it have yellow stripes? Click here.

22. Does it have a long neck and striped limbs? Chicken turtle

23. Does it have a yellow plastron, sometimes with light markings, and strong yellow markings on its head? Yellow-bellied slider

24. Does it have a yellow plastrong with dark markings? Cooter turtle