Map and Cooter turtles
Map Turtles belong to the Graptemy group with 14 different subspecies. The Common Map turtle, native to Indiana, have oval, mounded carapaces with the rear scutes serrated. It usually has a pattern of narrow light lines or circles on an olive green background. The plastron is hingeless is cream to yellow in adults. Juveniles have a dark coloration following the seams. The skin is olive to dark brown with yellow stripes. Some neck stripes extend to the eye area. The lower jaw has long yellow stripes. Adult males are smaller than females, have more of an oval carapace and long thick nails. Females have a broader head and a rounded carapace. The common map turtle ranges from eastern Canada to the New England states and west to the Midwestern states. This is the only map turtle that inhabits waters that empty into the Atlantic. They inhabit large bodies of water with abundant basking areas and slow moving waters. The adults favor areas with fallen limbs rather than thick vegetation. Courtship occurs in the spring and fall. The female can lay as many as 20 eggs and up to 3 clutches a year.