Good morning everyone. And as the title indicates, I'm pleased to present today a rare find for yours truly. Being an Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina), that I spotted on a bike path that winds through a wooded area adjacent to Lacey Pond.
A rare find because it's only the second box turtle that I've ever come across. Unlike other pond turtle species, box turtles act more like tortoises as they are usually found far from any water. And so you'll know, here in the Midwest they are a Species of Concern in Ohio, and of Special Concern in Michigan and Indiana.
As for this particular turtle, it's a male as evident by the red eyes (irises), which males normally possess versus females that usually have brown eyes. And it was all of 6 inches (15.2 cm) in length, which indicates it's fully grown.
Just two pics of which the second can be found in the comment section and my stream. Under the later in the caption you'll also find some detailed text describing this pretty turtle.
One final note, you'll notice in the above pic this turtle seems to have some kind of problem with a "goiter" like lump on its throat. It was mostly to one side so it doesn't look like the lump is from anything it might have recently tried to swallow. Otherwise it seemed perfectly fine.
Thank you for stopping by...and I hope you're having a truly nice week.
Lacey
ISO400, aperture, f/8, exposure .006 seconds (1/160) focal length 300mm
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