First Turtle of 2016

     Hello Fellow Cheloniophiles (I guess that's a word, if not, it is now):
Well, it's another year and soon turtles will be roaming all over looking for places to lay eggs and start the next generation of great chelonians.
     Anyway, I was out the other day and even though the temps were in the mid fifties, the sun was out and I managed to get a shot of this nice female Red Eared Slider at Paradise Pond.  She was a bit slow but still I watched as she moved around among the Lily Pads searching for Morsels of food.  She is the first wild turtle to be photographed this year.  I looked around but saw no others.  Once she noticed me taking pics she began moving towards me, probably in the hopes i had something to feed her so she wouldn't have to search for any food.  I have noticed over the years that RES (Red Eared Sliders) seem to be very adaptable temperature-wise which is probably one of the main reasons that this species is so successful.  I have seen them actively swimming and searching for food in temps as low as 40 degrees F.  Once temps drop down into the thirties they usually slow down a bit.
      As many times as I've watched these turtles in the wild I never tire of it.  They are truly fascinating and resilient, especially in modern times when so many other species so tenuously cling to life in the 21st century.  Enjoy and...Happy New Year!

"First Turtles of 2015!"

     Hello Everybody:
   It's been a while but I'm back to share more tidbits about the turtles we share our planet with.  For much of the country winter is a time of snow, ice, and turtles in hibernation but for Florida it's business as usual with turtles.  Oh there may be a few weeks of inactivity during the coldest part of winter, but if there's a warm day with some sunshine there should be a turtle out sunning itself somewhere.  Such is the case in early January when I visited Lake Tarpon for some pictures of winter visiting birds that might be hanging around.  Temps were in the low 60's but there was a good bit of sunlight so it looked like a good day for some birding.  While walking along a boardwalk jutting out over a swampy area leading to one corner of the lake I spied a Green Heron (Butorides viriscens) hiding from sight.  Certainly not a winter visitor but an interesting bird anyway.

     After admiring the Heron for a couple minutes while it searched for food I heard the familiar laughing call of my old pal; Woody Woodpecker.  I followed the sound as best I could (being on a boardwalk) and soon found what I was looking for, a male Pileated Woodpecker (Hylatomus pileatus) climbing vertically up a tree...right next to the boardwalk!  I was able to get a few really nice pics before moving out over the Lake's edge.

                                          

     Peering through the stands of Cypress Trees I found what I was looking for; a basking platform made of tangled reeds and branches with at least three turtles sitting on top.  They definitely were not making it easy to get any really good shots of them as their was quite a bit of cover between myself and the sunbathing turtles.  Still I managed to get off a couple pics before they figured out that somebody discovered them.  As I was taking the third shot they all bolted into the water.

     After I got home and placed the pics on the larger computer screen it was easy to identify the basking turtles.  They were Florida Red-Bellied Terrapins (Pseudemys nelsoni).  A pleasant surprise to say the least as I really like this variably patterned species.  Enjoy!

"First Turtles of 2013"

      Hello Everybody:
   The other day found the weather so nice and the sun shining brightly that I decided to go to one of my fave turtle watching spots to see if any shelled warriors were out enjoying the wonderful weather we were having for a few days.  It wasn't quite springtime yet but a seventy-three degree day with lots of sunshine almost guaranteed that I would probably catch a few chelonians out and about.
   It was about 9:30 A.M. as I made my way out to "Eat Park" (my grandson Gavyn's name  for the park) after dropping him off at pre-school.  Getting out of the car i made my way out to one of three of the park's lakes and out onto the boardwalk.  The lake was as beautiful and inviting as always.

   Walking along I was amazed that I didn't see any turtle heads breeching the surface of the water.  Was it possible I was wrong and that the turtles were still sleeping from last week's cold spell?  I wasn't convinced and pressed forward.  Rounding a corner I was making my way toward the woods when I spotted something out of the corner of my eye.  in a bramble of bushes i thought i spied a very familiar sight.

   It was the perfect spot for a turtle (or two) to bask on.  Looking along the length of the tngled growth jutting from the lake's waters I spied my quarry, a beautiful Red Belly Slider (Pseudemys nelsoni) basking under the nice Florida sun.

   Though not the largest Red Belly Slider I've ever seen ( around 12") this one sure was a beautiful sight to behold, the first turtle of 2013.  It turned it's neck and watched me with a cautious eye as a took a couple photos.  Once finished I set the camera down and, leaning on the boardwalk's railing, I just marveled at the sight of this beautiful animal, the product of two hundred plus million years of evolution, as the majestic turtle basked in the light of the modern world.  Outliving even the mighty dinosaurs, Red Belly Sliders and over three hundred other species of modern day turtles, have shown the resilience of their design.  We cautiously watched each other for a few minutes before I said goodbye.  Slowly backing away, so as not to frighten the turtle, I made my way off the boardwalk and onto the next lake encouraged by my luck so far.  It took about five minutes to reach the second lake.  I took my time to take in the sounds of the woods as birds of several species could be heard chirping out in the woods.  I heard Cardinals, Bluejays,  Mockingbirds, and the tweets of some Warblers that I couldn't see.
   Reaching the second lake I was greeted by the sight of a Moor hen slowly making her way across the water seemingly without a care in the world..

   I watched as she glided effortlessly across the surface of the lake.  Making my way onto the boardwalk I took a position in front of some lily pads and waited silently.  It didn't take long before I spotted my first turtle, a nice female Red-Eared Slider.  I almost didn't see her as she stealthfully positioned herself under a large lily pad until she stuck her head out of the water.

   I watched her for a minute or two and she eventually came out from under the water lily, looking up at me for a few seconds, then making her way under the boardwalk and out of sight. Then i caught site of movement among the water lilies.  Looking out around fifteen feet from where I  caught sight of a beautiful, and very large, female Peninsula Cooter as she swam under the lilies.

 

 
She was a big girl, easily 16" in length and probably more.  I continued to observe her as she made her way out through the water lilies until she was out of sight.  Unlike the first female this one had lots of patterning on her carapace.  I continued looking out over the lily fields but saw no other turtle activity so I made my way around to the boardwalk on the other side of the lake.  As I walked along the forest path around the lake I caught sight of a South-Eastern Five-Lined Skink (Eumeces inexpectatus) basking on top of a piece of wood alongside a pine tree but it scurried away under the leaves before I could get a picture.  I waited for several minutes, camera in hand, to see if it would come back out but it stayed hidden under the safety of the fallen leaves.  I shrugged my shoulders and moved on.  Approaching the boardwalk I could hear the sounds of a Florida Bird that doesn't seem to be as common as it once was, The Red-Winged Blackbird.  I heard several individuals but none of them afforded me an opportunity to photograph them.  It didn't matter, I got a fair picture of one at the same lake last year.
   Making my way across a small walking bridge that traversed a slough connecting the lake with a small swamp littered with cattails I caught sight of chelonian activity.  I slowly approached a spot above the activity, peering carefully into the water below me.  I spotted a small male Red-Ear Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) about six inches in length swimming around something.  Moving my head farther over the rail I spied what the turtle was after, a female Red-Ear that was making her way to the lake from the swamp.  I watched as the male courted the female.  She didn't show the slightest interest in his amorous advances.  She obviously forgot that Valentines day was just a couple days away.

   I watched them for a couple minutes until the female swam away, leaving the mal;e to chase a minnow that swam by.
   After that I made my way back through the forest and out to the parking lot, and civilization, happy that I'd been able to share this wonderful morning with some shelled Friends. 
   Have a Wonderful Valentine's Day Everyone!!!
   The "Creature"
       

"Lonesome George, No More"

Hello All you Friends of Turtles:

Ah, I've been so busy working on projects (as well as attempting to trim part of "E-Mail Hell") that I missed mentioning World Turtle Day (may 23rd), and World Tortoise Day (May 27). Well, not so with the most recent news in the turtle world, albeit a very sad entry, the death of Lonesome George. For those of you who may not know who Lonesome George is, well, he was the last surviving member of his subspecies of Galapagos Tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni). There are currently ten subspecies of Galapagos tortoises still roaming the islands off the coast of Ecuador.

 Lonesome George was the only living member of his subspecies, which lived on Pinta Island in the Galapagos archipelago. I first heard about him in the mid seventies, just a couple years after he was brought to the Charles Darwin Research Center to keep him safe. It appeared that he'd been alone on the island for some time. Off and on I followed his exploits over the years though not to any great degree. Still I would always stop to read any news concerning Lonesome George. There were several expeditions to Pinta Island in the hopes of finding another of George's subspecies but to no avail. He was truly the last of his kind.

There are two shell types found among the various subspecies of Galapagos tortoises; those with dome-shaped shells and those with a shell they call Saddleback because the shell has a similar shape to that of a saddle. Lonesome George was of the saddleback variety which includes the James Island Tortoise and the Hood Island Tortoise, both surviving in low numbers themselves. In fact, the Hood Island Saddlebacks were down to just twelve individuals by the seventies.

Through carefully monitored breeding programs both the Hood and James Island tortoises seem to be making progress with their numbers and appear to be on the road to recovery. Not so for Lonesome George. In the 90's two similar type females from Wolf Volcano on Isabel Island came to live with Lonesome and be his roommates. He ignored them for the most part though there were some eggs after several years though all were infertile. After some more testing it was decided to pull the females as they were really hybrids and not the best choice for George. They replaced them with Hood Island females but there was still no breeding activity. At around a hundred years of age things looked grim.

 Anyway, on Sunday Lonesome George was fond deceased in his habitat area. He had eaten fine on both Friday and Saturday and showed no signs of health problems. Though an autopsy will be performed speculation revolves around George possibly suffering a fatal heart attack. I guess in the coming weeks they'll know for sure. George will be preserved and become part of a new interpretive center for Galapagos Tortoise conservation.

There is still hope that some turtles found in and around Volcan Wolf may harbor genes of the Pinta Island Tortoises. Maybe one day the world will see a partial resurgence of this unique subspecies of Galapagos Tortoise.

 Surely the legacy left behind will live on even long after his passing. His story has done more for creating conservation awareness for many other critically endangered turtles as well as other animals at the brink of extinction. Though Lonesome George may not have been able to father any turtles to carry on the Pinta Island gene his story has helped hatch thousand of "conservation eggs" for other species, including his critically endangered cousins from Hood Island.

 Rest easy my friend, you certainly have done your job in more ways than anyone could ever imagine. Maybe now you'll find your lost brothers and sisters who left Pinta Island long before you. Oh, and by the way, say hello to Archelon for me and tell Chupacabrachelys to stop attacking them goats up there. I hope all of you have a Great Turtley Day!!!
Spawn

"Another Great "Eat Park" Day"

Hello Fellow Shell Shackers:
Well, it was another perfect day the other day so it was off to Eat Park for Gavyn (phenomenal grandson) and I to hit "Eat Park," only this time, we brought a camera. There were lots of turtles out but nowhere near as many as the last trip in December. Still...it was a good day for turtle watching as the following picture shows.



Once out on the dock we began looking for turtles. The first to show up was a nice female Florida Cooter (Pseudemys floridana peninsularis). We've seen her before. She was curios and approached the dock to check out what we were doing. Last year there were some people feeding them some chicken so I'm sure she was looking for a handout.




Shortly after she arrived an algae covered male Peninsular Cooter showed up. He wasn't out to court the female. He was just there checking out what was going on at the dock.

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From out on the lake another chelonian looked on. It was a Red-Eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) and from a distance, it looked to be a female.



As she swam around the dock she settled in by the male Peninsular Cooter. No, she wasn't there to breed with the male slider (that's a topic for another post), she was there to see if he was getting any food that she wasn't getting.



She hadn't missed a thing as we hadn't fed them anything. Once the three turtles continued hovering in the nice sun-warmed water it was time to give them a treat so Gavyn opened the bag of cat food I handed to him and fed them the few pieces that were in the bag. We purposely only brought a little because they are wild turtles and need to forage and hunt for their food most of the time.
It didn't take but a couple seconds before a fairly large Florida Softshell (Apalone Ferox) showed up to bully his way into the tiny morsels of food being offered.



Amazingly the Soft shell Turtle was very gentle, not snapping at any of the other turtles though definitely trying to snatch up most of the food. It was kind of comical to watch. After all the food was gone (it only took them a couple minutes, if that, to gobble it all up) they still stayed by the dock area swimming around. This allowed several new people walking the boardwalks to see three species of native Florida turtles up close and personal. After a little while Gavyn and I left, taking with us the satisfaction of..."Another Great Eat Park Day."
Have a Wonderful Day!!!
The "Creature"

"Eat Park Turtles"

Hello Fellow Shackers:
Boy, what a gap between posts. Sorry about that. The reason is not one of lack of things to write but having too many ideas and not being able to figure what to write about. Yeah, I know, lame excuse. I agree.
Anyway, Christmas went well though it was a little quiet at times for me. I didn't go to one family gathering as I wanted to stay home with my daughter on Christmas eve. Her son was with his dad so she wanted to stay home. It sounded good to me but after one early movie, "Super 8," which was over by 8:00 P. M., she went out with her friends so I was home alone. I made use of the "quiet time" and got lots of writing done on my next book.
On Sunday, we went to my niece's house and enjoyed a Christmas ham dinner. It was excellent and we went out to check out their critters which included Bearded Dragons, Leopard Geckos, Horned Frogs, and one Box Turtle that eats anything offered it. Well, that was all good and the evening went smoothly.
It was on the 26th ,though, the day after Christmas that I got one of my neatest presents. We had honorable grandson back (actually he came home early on Sunday) so he and I took a little trip to one of our fave parks...Eat Park. That's not really it's name but to grandson that is what the park's name is. Just on a whim I brought a little food for the turtles. We got out on the lake at the park and walked out onto the dock and saw a few turtles (The day after x-mas??/ Why not, it was 75 degrees F.). Anyway, there was a young couple and their little boy there and they watched as we offered a few morsels of food to the aquatic chelonians. All of a sudden the lake was alive with the sound of music (oops, wrong story, actually, no sound at all, let's try again)...alive with turtles coming from everywhere. There were nearly thirty turtles in all; Sliders (Pseudemys peninsularis), one Red Ear (Trachemys Scripta elegans), Red-Bellied Terrapins (Pseudemys nelsoni), and Florida Softshell Turtles (Apalone ferox). None of them showed any fear and we all were treated to a neat feeding display by the lake's turtles. There was one particular Red-Belly that had a very interesting pattern of red rays on it's carapace. I'll go back when it warms up and get some pics to post. It was a fun day and before leaving for the playground the couple told me about a lake nearby called Turtle Lake where they actually have feed dispensers to get turtle food from. I'm definitely going to check that place out and get some pics.
I really enjoyed watching the Lake's residents as they presented themselves. So much so that I added it to my list of presents for the year; "A day with the turtles." My grandson enjoyed it to and got to go to the playground as well.
Have a Great Turtley Day!!!
John

Chinlechelys, a basal turtle from New Mexico

Hey Guys:
Boy the world of turtles never fails to produce interesting discussion topics. These ancient animals are truly a wonder encased in a design that has withstood the test of time for over 200,000,000 million years. That's an insane amount of time . There is no way to even comprehend that number of years, especially when we live less than a hundred years (for the most part). Therefore it is an amazing feat for turtles to have survived in an ever changing environment. Sharks and other sea life have been around longer but they live in a considerably more stable environment. Turtles were exposed to it all and yet they are still here to fascinate us even today.
For a time it was thought that maybe early Basal turtle forms like Proganochelys quenstedti from the Triassic period may have centered around Central Europe, radiating out from there. Well, in the last twenty years or so additional Triassic turtles have been found in Thailand, Argentina, and Greenland. Now we can add to that ever growing list the United States as a Triassic turtle, Chinlechelys tenertesta, has been found in the Bull Canyon region of New Mexico. This fossil dates back about 205 million years. This means that early turtles probably had a Pangaean origin.
Chinlechelys is a truly marvelous find; one for it being the first Triassic turtle found in the states, and secondly, having the thinnest shell of all turtles with a fully ossified shell. In spots the shell varies from 3mm thick down to 1mm. the species name, tenertesta equates to thin shell, a name well chosen for the species. Today's winner on the thin shell front without a doubt is the Pancake Tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri). These turtles have shells so thin it can move when the small east African Tortroise breathes. These turtles frequent rocky areas and can wedge themselves in rock crevices and inflate with air, safe from predators. My guess is that Chinlechelyprobably used fallen logs or rocks, to hide in and around, for protection.
Another interesting note about this species is that it gives rise to the speculation that turtle shells were not "always" formed from flattened ribs. In Chinlechelys the ribs are attached to the osteoderm shell plate but not fused to it like in modern turtles. Whether this is really how the shell evolved or whether Chinlechelys is some sort of proto-turtle is not known. Unfortunately there was only a handful of material found of the type specimen and not all in the same trip. Whether there is enough fossil material to truly make a claim one way or another is probably doubtful. It is enough, however, to allow room for speculation. I'd like to see more material before solidifying a position one way or another. For one thing I'd like to see a skull. It is possible that Chinlechelys may not even be a true turtle though I am not saying it's not. From the artist's rendition it sure looks to be all turtle to me. The problem is that some Placodonts such as Cyamodus and Henodus resemble early turtles.. These Placodont genera have dermal armor plating to protect the soft parts of the body. The overall look is that of a turtle shell. In Cyamodus the armor plating was broken into two sections.
One thing Chinlechelys shares with Proganochelys is that it had spines on it's neck like those of Proganochelys. In fact, the first piece of this turtle that was found, was a small section of neck spines. These were probably very advantageous to have to help protect the turtle's skin from predators, of which there were many.
Unlike many of the Earth's ancient turtles that roamed the oceans, Chinlechelys was either a completely terrestrial turtle or a shallow water swamp turtle. Some of the other fossils found in the area appear to have been species associated with water such as Poposaurs, a strange looking beast somewhere between looking like a croc or possibly a dino. Either way Chinlechelys had to wander around in a habitat teaming with other beasties. They had to be very careful to stay cryptic so as not to be stepped on or bitten by other animals. My guess is that it was swamp or a moist forest animal like the turtles of the genus Notochelys are today!
As always you can't get a restful night's sleep in any paleo dormitory. The question of the day is; "Why do the call it Chinlechelys when it was found in Bull Canyon, NM. My simple answer is..."Who cares, at least they didn't name it Gamerabaena! Now turn off the light and go to sleep (lol)!" :)))
Have a Great Day!!!
The "Creature"