Can you identify me

My daughter found this turtle in the backyard cutting the grass. It is not a box turtle and in fact looks like a water type turtle as it has very long claws which would likely be more ground down if it where a land dwelling turtle. However we don't have any close water sources nearby to speak of. We live in and around the Atlanta area of Georgia. I am leaning towards a Florida Cooter but still cant find a good matching photo. Can anyone help positively ID this species?

Carapace
[IMG]http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...psulwon85q.jpg[/IMG]

Plastron
[IMG]http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...psvtbtpymd.jpg[/IMG]

Side shot
[IMG]http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...pseo1uujwu.jpg[/IMG]

Thanks for looking.

Looks like a slider of some sort to me, but it could be either a red or yellow eared slider based on where you are. They look pretty similar with their heads pulled in and their shells dirty. Looks like a male judging by the claws, though.

and instantly decided it was a yellow belly slider, until I looked at the head. When the head comes out are there any yellow stripes on the neck? Usually sliders have yellow marks on the head and the neck.

David

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nightrainfalls

and instantly decided it was a yellow belly slider, until I looked at the head. When the head comes out are there any yellow stripes on the neck? Usually sliders have yellow marks on the head and the neck.

David

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No yellow marks to speak of. It all just looked mottled and the same color as you can see in the side shot.

so maybe I am wrong, but the carapace and plastron make me think it is a yellow belly. It seems like an older specimen, so perhaps the yellow markings have faded.

David

Yellow belly to me

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daigga

Looks like a slider of some sort to me, but it could be either a red or yellow eared slider based on where you are. They look pretty similar with their heads pulled in and their shells dirty. Looks like a male judging by the claws, though.

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Digging a little more, I'm inclined to agree. Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nightrainfalls

and instantly decided it was a yellow belly slider, until I looked at the head. When the head comes out are there any yellow stripes on the neck? Usually sliders have yellow marks on the head and the neck.

David

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Yeah, the head was throwing me too. All the pics I see look very much alike and the head is easy to recognize. Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nightrainfalls

so maybe I am wrong, but the carapace and plastron make me think it is a yellow belly. It seems like an older specimen, so perhaps the yellow markings have faded.

David

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No, I think you're right. I think as you say it just may be an older specimen and some of the brightness has faded. Thanks again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by M.P.C

Yellow belly to me

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Agreed. Thanks

As Daigga said, the long claws indicate male - also the relatively small size for an adult Trachemys. I'm not the best at turtles - especially old, stained/dirty ones - so I relied on my favorite online identification references for all things turtle:

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/world_of_turtles/

This picture reference is great in that it shows many pictures of each species so you can browse around and get a feel for each one.

I'm going with Trachemys scripta elegans, red eared slider, on this one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by John1982

As Daigga said, the long claws indicate male - also the relatively small size for an adult Trachemys. I'm not the best at turtles - especially old, stained/dirty ones - so I relied on my favorite online identification references for all things turtle:

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/world_of_turtles/

This picture reference is great in that it shows many pictures of each species so you can browse around and get a feel for each one.

I'm going with Trachemys scripta elegans, red eared slider, on this one.

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This turtle lacks the most important diagnostic trait of a red eared slider. Namely the red ear.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nightrainfalls

This turtle lacks the most important diagnostic trait of a red eared slider. Namely the red ear.

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Not at all uncommon in older, faded individuals. The quality of the water in which they're living can also cause the characteristic red ear to be grimed over or stained. This is why it's important to look at the features as a whole when identifying instead of focusing on one thing. You also can't make out any yellow "s" shaped mark on the side of the head as is typical in scripta scripta.

While I believe this animal to be more dirty or stained than anything, melanism is fairly common in scripta elegans; I've never seen a melanistic scripta scripta. That's just one more reason for me to lean towards red eared slider as my guess.