Markus Auer Fig. 2. A
Markus Auer Fig. 2. A young Common Snapping Turtle from the canal. Fig. 3. The canal at sunset, with Painted Turtles spaced at 20-m intervals. Fig. 4. A subadult Painted Turtle from the canal, corresponding in all traits to the nominate form, C. picta picta. 6 RADIATA 26 (2), 2017
In Search of Chelonians in Connecticut and New York State with the long-handled dipnets we had brought along. In spite of the afternoon heat of 34 °C, I refrained from entering the water and trying to catch it by hand. For one, I had no experience with handling Snapping Turtles, neither animals in captivity nor those living in the wild. For the other, I deemed the layer of mud too deep for comfort. Instead we took our catching gear and set off along the canal in search of other chelonians. Anthony told us, and so did other American friends of ours later on, that Snapping Turtles would be quite inaggressive when in the water and rather try and flee when a person came close. If it was caught and handled, it would prove in response just how incredibly quick it was and how fiercely it could bite, though. It only took a little while before we netted a specimen of 16 cm in length that we placed on a nearby meadow for taking photographs – much to the amusement of a family that had just arrived in the adjacent parking lot. Duly instructed by Anthony, we took hold of the small yet very energetic specimen only by its hind legs and the rear end of its carapace, which saved us from a close encounter with its sharp-edged jaws. Like many other species of soft-shelled turtles, this one is able to reach back to half of its shell length on top and on the sides with its Fig. 5. Subadult Painted Turtles from the canal; note the “marginata”-type plastral pattern in the specimen in the top left corner. Fig. 6. A juvenile Chrysemys picta from the previous year collected from the canal. RADIATA 26 (2), 2017 7
