Common Box Turtle
Terrapene carolina
- Class
- Reptile
- Rarity
- Rare
- Observations
- 65,899
- Most observed in
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Conservation
- Vulnerable
Description
The common box turtle is a species of box turtle with five existing subspecies. It is found throughout the Eastern United States and Mexico. The box turtle has a distinctive hinged lower shell that allows it to completely enclose itself, like a box. Its upper jaw is hooked. The turtle is primarily terrestrial and eats a wide variety of plants and animals. The females lay their eggs in the summer. Turtles in the northern part of their range hibernate over the winter.
Summary adapted from the Wikipedia article “Common box turtle”.