Carapace olive to brown with light-yellow oval markings and dark blotches; distinct keel with blunt black spines (reduced in adults); keel may be dark brown. Plastron cream to yellow or greenish-yellow; intricately patterned in juveniles; often unpatterned in adults. Short yellow bar or crescent-shaped mark behind eyes. Male has elongated claws on front feet.
Ten Facts about False Map Turtle
- Size of Males, 3 1/2-5 3/4" (8.9-14.6 cm); size of females, 5-10 3/4" (12.7-27.3 cm).
- The false map turtle lives in large streams of the Missouri and Mississippi river systems; ranging from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, through the Dakotas southward to southwestern Alabama, south and west Mississippi, through Louisiana and eastern Texas.
- They prefers rivers and large creeks with moderate currents, containing aquatic vegetation, as well as snags or floating logs.
- The false map turtle is a strong swimmer.
- Their alternate name is Mississippi Map Turtle.
- First clutches are usually laid by mid-May to mid-June.
- Gender determination correlates with incubation temperature (males at < 25 oC; females at > 30 oC).
- Mating probably occurs in April and again in October and November.
- The false map turtle is omnivorous, feeding on mollusks, insects, and plant material.
- Two and possibly three clutches, from 8-22 eggs (varies with subspecies), are laid per year.
