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| Bog Turtle (NJ) - Photo: Rosie Walunas/USFWS |
The Northeast is home to North America's smallest turtle, the threatened bog turtle. Its carapace measures about 10 centimeters (4 in) long when fully grown. The bog turtle is the state reptile of New Jersey.
The bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii ) is a critically endangered species of semiaquatic turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the eastern United States. The bog turtle was listed as an endangered species in New Jersey in 1974, and in 1997, the US Fish and Wildlife Service included the bog turtle on its list of federally threatened species.
Although the bog turtle is similar in appearance to the painted or spotted turtles, its closest relative is actually the somewhat larger wood turtle. The bog turtle can be found from Vermont in the north, south to Georgia, and west to Ohio.
Diurnal and secretive, it spends most of its time buried in mud and during the winter months, it goes into hibernation.
The bog turtle is omnivorous, feeding mainly on small invertebrates.
The bog turtle has a low reproduction rate; females lay one clutch per year, with an average of three eggs each. The young tend to grow rapidly, reaching sexual maturity between the ages of 4 and 10 years. Bog turtles live for an average of 20 to 30 years in the wild. Since 1973, the Bronx Zoo has successfully bred the bog turtle in captivity.
Protected under the United States Federal Endangered Species Act, the bog turtle is considered threatened in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
The invasion of non-native plants, especially purple loosestrife, reed canary grass, and reeds, into its habitat is a large threat to the bog turtles'survival. These thick and tall plants hinder the movement of the turtles and overtake the native species in the bog turtle's habitat.
The development of new neighborhoods and roadways obstructs the bog turtle's movement between wetlands, thus inhibiting the establishment of new bog turtle colonies.
Bog turtles are also illegally collected as pets.
Pesticides, runoff, and industrial discharge are all harmful to the bog turtles' habitat and food supply.
The rebounding of bog turtle colonies now depends on private intervention, land surveys, remote sensing and controlled burns to limit the encroachment of overshadowing trees and bushes.
As of 2018, the Department of Environmental Protection's Endangered and Nongame Species Program estimates that there are fewer than 2,000 of these inhabitants of groundwater-fed freshwater wetlands left in the state.
MORE
- www.conservewildlifenj.org/species/fieldguide/view/Glyptemys%20muhlenbergii/
- www.fws.gov/northeast
- www.facebook.com/usfwsnortheast
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