Chrysemys picta bellii
(Gray, 1831)
St. Louis Co., Missouri. May 16, 1982.
My first Western Painted Turtle was basking in a pond at Grant’s Farm, a tourist attraction. I didn’t get my hands on a bellii until years later, in central Kansas. Western Paints are beautifully photogenic; pictured here is a bellii from Minnesota, taken in 2016, and an Iowa specimen found on some railroad tracks in 2017.
My Flickr album for this species is here.
HerpMapper records for this species are here.
