| Species | Actinemys marmorata Baird and Girard 1852 (= Clemmys marmorata, Emys marmorata) |
| Family | Emydidae (Box and Water Turtles) |
| Status | State Endangered Federal Species of Concern |
| State Rank | S1 |
| Global Rank | G3G4 |
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A medium sized, plain, aquatic turtle. Adults range in size from 9 to 19 cm carapace length. The carapace is relatively smooth, olive, dark brown, reddish or black, usually with a pattern of lighter markings (flecks or spots) radiating from the center of the shields (scutes). The plastron is yellow with varying amounts of brown depending on the individual and age. The body ground color can be dark brown, light brown or black often with light or dark spotting. Throat, in females, often yellow speckled with black or, in males, plain off-white. Coloration darkens with age. Juveniles tend to have lighter coloration and bolder markings on the shell. See Photos Page.
Only two native turtle species occur in Washington. The Painted Turtle has a smooth olive-colored shell, yellow striping on the head and legs, and bright red markings on the plastron and underside of the carapace margins. In some, the red extends onto the edges and dorsal surface of the carapace. The most common introduced turtle, the Slider, has a wrinkled dark shell usually with dull yellow markings. The plastron is yellow with black blotches. The head and limbs are yellow striped and there is a bright red marking behind the eye. Many species of introduced, released and escaped pet turtles show up regularly, as do oddities, such as melanistic Sliders with no red marking behind the eye and yellow stripes so faded as to be barely visible when the turtle is in hand. See Key Features Page.
Western Pond Turtles are active as soon as water temperatures are warm enough and basking is possible, usually in late March or early April. Adult activity continues until late September or October depending on weather conditions and location. A recent telemetry study of juvenile turtles found that some turtles were still active in December at a site in the Columbia River Gorge (Skamania Co.).
Historically, pond turtles occurred in the Puget Trough Ecoregion and in the Columbia River Gorge (Western Cascades and Eastern Cascades Ecoregions). See Distribution Map.
For information on the complete range of this species, see NatureServe Explorer.
Western Pond Turtles utilize a variety of flowing and still water habitats in other parts of their range, but in Washington they are only known from ponds and lakes. This species is primarily aquatic, but strays from water to lay eggs, to disperse to new water bodies, to winter out-of-water (about half of Washington's turtles winter on land) and to aestivate during periods of drought. Pond turtles spend a great deal of time basking on logs and other supporting structures at the surface of ponds.
There are only four populations in Washington. Two populations are natural and two were introduced by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The introduced populations (one in the Puget Trough, the other in the Columbia River Gorge) have captive-reared and released turtles that are intended to someday develop into functioning wild populations. All populations are vulnerable to factors that could cause their extirpation.
Any sighting of the Western Pond Turtle should be reported to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife at 360-902-2515 or wildthing@dfw.wa.gov.
The major threats to this species are 1) loss of hatchlings to bullfrogs, 2) alteration of important features of aquatic or terrestrial habitats, 3) loss of nests to human activities or predators, 4) disease and competition from introduced turtles, and 5) removal from the wild by humans.
Wild hatchling Western Pond Turtles from the Columbia River Gorge were reared at the Woodland Park and Oregon Zoos in 2003 and 2004 as part of the recovery effort for this Washington State endangered species. The objective of the program is to reduce losses to introduced predators like bullfrogs and largemouth bass by raising the hatchlings to a size where they are too large to be eaten by most of these predators. The 136 head-started juvenile turtles were released at three sites in the Columbia Gorge in 2004. This brought the total number of head-start turtles released since 1991 to 246. In 2004, 32 females from the two Columbia Gorge populations were equipped with transmitters and monitored for nesting activity. Twenty-one of the females nested and produced 85 hatchlings. The hatchlings were collected in September and October and transported to the Woodland Park and Oregon zoos for rearing in the head-start program. Data collection for a four-year telemetry study of survival and habitat use by juvenile western pond turtles at Pierce NWR concluded in 2004. During the 2004 field season trapping effort, 345 western pond turtles were captured in the Columbia Gorge, including 297 previously head-started turtles. These recaptures, together with confirmed nesting by head-start females and visual resightings, indicate the program is succeeding in boosting juvenile recruitment to increase the populations. Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) funded approximately 60% of program activities in the Columbia River Gorge from October 2003 through September 2004. Submitted by David Anderson from the WDFW.
Hays et al. (1999), Milner (1986)
Personal Communications: D. Anderson, S. Clark, J.A. Holman, J. Lewis
Hallock, L.A. and McAllister, K.R. 2005. Western Pond Turtle. Washington Herp Atlas. http://www1.dnr.wa.gov/nhp/refdesk/herp/
Last updated: February 2005