Reptiles. Ectothermic vertebrates Very successful Have scales and toenails Amniotes (lay eggs with yolk on land) Made up of 4 orders:

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1 Reptiles of Florida

2 Reptiles Ectothermic vertebrates Very successful Have scales and toenails Amniotes (lay eggs with yolk on land) Made up of 4 orders: Crocodylia (alligators & crocodiles) Squamata (amphisbaenids & lizards, including snakes) Testudines (turtles) Sphenodontida (tutuaras)

3 Order Testudines 1 st appeared about 220 million years ago Have modified ribcage that forms shell and encloses pelvic and pectoral girdles Life histories typically characterized by slow growth, low fecundity, late maturity & long life

4 Family Chelydridae Large freshwater turtles Rarely leave water except to lay eggs Long neck, long tail, & small plastron

5 Chelydra serpentina Photo By: D. Stevenson Can attain large size Large head, long neck and small plastron Common throughout most of eastern US Common Snapping Turtle

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7 Macrochelys temminckii HUGE! (record 113.9kg) Large head with strongly hooked beak Carapace w/3 large keels Worm-like pink lure on tongue used to catch fish Alligator Snapping Turtle Photos By: E. Condon

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9 Family Emydidae Pond and box turtles Largest turtle family Large plastron (may be hinged) Most species found in the temperate zone

10 Malaclemys terrapin Only brackish water turtle Large ranges Once hunted almost to extinction, protected in many states Bycatch in crab traps Diamondback Terrapin

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12 Pseudemys concinna 2 nd costal scute with light C Not as high-domed as other Psuedemys River Cooter

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14 Pseudemys floridana Large, high-domed shell May have light hairpins on head Florida Cooter

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16 Pseudemys nelsoni Large, high-domed shell w/ red streaks Plastron usually light orange or yellow Notch in upper jaw with strong cusps May lay eggs in alligator nests Florida Redbelly Turtle

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18 Terrapene carolina Photo By: W. Tracy Almost entirely terrestrial Plastral hinge allows for complete closure of shell Brilliant coloration extremely variable (especially where subspecies overlap) Eastern Box Turtle

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20 Trachemys scripta scripta Large yellow blotch behind eye Rear marginals serrate Vertically striped pants Photo By: G. Miller Yellowbelly Slider

21 Trachemys scripta elegans Exotic in FL Nickle turtle sold in Five- &-Dime stores Introduced to every continent except Antarctica Broad reddish stripe behind eye may fade, along with green carapace, in adults Red-Eared Slider

22 Family Kinosternidae Mud and musk turtles have musk glands that can secrete malodorous musk Strongly aquatic Bottom walkers Mostly nocturnal Hinged plastron Two genera: Kinosternon (mud) Triangular pectoral scute Double hinged plastron Sternotherus (musk) Rectangular pectoral scute Single hinged plastron

23 Kinosternon baurii Three light stripes on carapace Triangular pectoral scute, two hinges Head with two light side stripes Photo By: Suzanne Collins Striped Mud Turtle

24 Kinosternon subrubrum Photo By: J. Jensen Smooth brownblack carapace Triangular pectoral scute, two hinges Head markings tend to be yellow, but are extremely variable Eastern Mud Turtle

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26 Sternotherus minor Pale gray head with profusion of dark flecks Adults-head large compared to body w/mollusk-crushing jaws Rectangular pectoral scute, one hinge Photo By: S. Collins Loggerhead Musk Turtle

27 Sternotherus odoratus Photo By: J. Jensen Very common Two yellow stripes on head Rectangular pectoral scutes, single hinge Barbels on throat and chin Will climb slanted trees/logs to bask Common Musk Turtle or Stinkpot Photo By: T. Blunden

28 Family Testudinidae Only 4 species in US, but representatives on every habitable continent except Australia Mostly herbivorous Elephant-like hind feet Photo By: E. Condon

29 Gopherus polyphemus Keystone species! Threatened in FL and US Digs burrows up to 2m deep and 15m long Burrows used by more than 300 other species Gopher Tortoise

30 Family Trionychidae Softshell turtles Powerful aquatic turtles with leathery shells (skeletal structure reduced) Long necks with tube-like nostrils allow for complete submersion

31 Apalone ferox Large and relatively common Overall brown/dark coloration Bumps on front of shell flattened Usually associated with lakes/ponds Florida Softshell

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33 Family Cheloniidae Marine turtles with limbs modified into flippers (all 6 spp. except leatherback) Slow growth, delayed maturation, low fecundity Leave water only to lay eggs 2 populations of green turtles bask All species internationally protected In U.S. loggerhead Threatened and all other spp. listed as Endangered

34 Highly variable Single pair of prefrontal scales on head 4 costal/lateral scutes 1 st lateral scute does not touch nuchal scute Only herbivorous sea turtle Chelonia mydas

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36 Caretta caretta Huge heads Juveniles lighter, adults dark reddish brown 5 lateral/coastal scutes 1 st costal touches nuchal 2 pairs prefrontal scales Typically covered in barnacles Loggerhead (Sea Turtle)

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38 Eretmochelys imbricata Tortoise-shell Overlapping scutes Sharp, pronounced beak 1 st lateral scute does not touch nuchal scute 38

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40 Lepidochelys kempii Almost circular carapace, olive green coloration 5 lateral scutes, 1 st touches nuchal Critically endangered, only one major nesting 40 rookery

41 Family Dermochelyidae Includes only the critically endangered leatherback turtle Living dinosaurs Perhaps deepest diving animal Most migratory animal in world Northernmost range of any reptile Endothermic! (warm-blooded) 41

42 Dermochelys coriacea Largest of all living turtles (and reptiles) 7 longitudinal ridges on carapaces Smooth leathery skin Entirely pelagic/oceanic Largest front flippers, no front claw 42

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