Painted (Turtle) Portrait Redux

Out with the old, and in with the new: a turtle sheds its shell.

Last June, I photographed a turtle on this exact log at Mass Audubon Wachusett Meadow. Yesterday, the turtle I saw there was shedding its shell. As a turtle grows larger, the outer portion of the shell, called the scutes, must fall off to make way for the newer, larger scutes.

19 thoughts on “Painted (Turtle) Portrait Redux

    1. I always take turtle pics on the same log in the same pond, but I don’t know if it was the same turtle all this year. I aspire to your ability to know creatures individually! 😉

    1. I didn’t know that about turtles, either. I spent quite a while at the pond looking at it, thinking, “Gee, that’s a funny bunch of reeds on that turtle’s back!” 😉

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