Maryland Turtles: Identification Guide With Pictures

Range: Found in small portions of Maryland north-central counties, from Cecil to Carroll. This species is Federally Threatened due to threats by collectors and habitat loss. If you see one, please report sightings to Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service.

Habitat: As its name implies, this turtle prefers spring-fed wetlands with soft highly organic soils. They like relatively open habitats with slow flowing stream systems or surface seepages. They are burrowers and need a soft substrate for digging. Dominant vegetation is usually grasses and sedges. (DNR)

Habitat: A terrestrial species, commonly encountered in rich, open woodlands and riparian forests, but may also be found in pastures and wet meadows, and during hot weather may be found soaking in shallow waters and mucks of various wetland types or under leaf litter. (DNR)

Habitat: Prefers slow-moving shallow water with soft bottoms and thick emergent and aquatic vegetation, such as ditches, wet meadows, small ponds, marshes, cypress swamps and Delmarva Bays. This species is very tolerant of brackish water, so may be locally abundant along tidal marsh edges, upland marsh hummocks and offshore islands. (DNR)

Habitat: Found in most permanent bodies of water with slow current and soft bottoms, including ponds, lakes, swamps, streams and rivers. Often climbs slanting trees on swamp and marsh edges, where they occasionally fall onto boaters. (DNR)

Range: Painted turtles are found throughout Maryland. Eastern Painted Turtles will be found in the southern and eastern counties and may breed with Midland Painteds where they overlap in Central Maryland.

Habitat: Slow-moving shallow water habitats with muddy bottoms and aquatic vegetation, including ponds, marshes, lakes, river pools and ditches. It can be found in both fresh and brackish water. (DNR)

Habitat: Traditionally found in rivers, lakes, ponds, and occasionally marshlands. (DNR)

Range: Coastal Bays of Worcester County. This turtle is listed as Federally and State Threatened. If found, please report sightings to the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service. If found stranded or dead, please report sightings.

Habitat: Open ocean, near shore and in coastal bays/estuaries. Most observations in our area are of juveniles near shore, usually in shallow water with an abundance of submerged vegetation. No nesting occurs at our latitude (all is tropical). (DNR)

Range: Coastal Bays of Worcester County. This turtle is listed as Federally and State Endangered. If found, please report sightings to the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service. If found stranded or dead, please report sightings

Habitat: Primarily a tropical species, where it is found only in marine environments, particularly shallow areas of rocky coastlines, coral reefs, estuaries and lagoons with mud bottoms. The key is shallow areas with little or no vegetation. No nesting occurs at our latitude. (DNR)

Range: This turtle is listed as Federally and State Endangered. If found, please report sightings to the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service. If found stranded or dead, please report sightings.

Habitat: Marine waters of the Chesapeake Bay, coastal bays, near shore and the continental shelf (< 150 feet deep). Often associated with eelgrass meadows. No nesting occurs at our latitude (most nesting is at Tamaulipas, Mexico). Most of our turtles are juveniles. During the summer months, the lower Chesapeake Bay has the highest concentrations of juvenile Ridleys in the world. (DNR)

Range: Off-shore Worcester County. This turtle is listed as Federally and State Endangered. If found, please report sightings to the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service. If found stranded or dead, please report sightings.

Habitat: Primarily open ocean (pelagic) but can occasionally be found near shore or in the shallow waters of bays and estuaries. They follow drifting schools of jellyfish, their main prey. (DNR)

Range: Aquatic areas of the Coastal Bays and Chesapeake. May nest in Worcester County. This turtle is listed as Federally and State Threatened. If found, please report sightings to the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service. If found stranded or dead, please report sightings.

Habitat: Open sea to near shore and brackish bays. Occasionally found in the tidal brackish portions of larger coastal rivers. Nest on sandy ocean-side beaches. (DNR)

Range: Painted turtles are found throughout Maryland. Midland Painted Turtles will be found in the northern and western counties and may breed with Eastern Painteds where they overlap in Central Maryland.

Habitat: All painted turtles prefer shallow, slow-moving water with a soft bottom and aquatic vegetation. They can be found in both fresh and brackish water. (DNR)

Range: Found only in Harford and Cecil Counties along the Susquehanna River. This turtle is listed as State Endangered. If found, please report sightings to the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service.

Habitat: Prefers the deep or shallow parts of slow-moving rivers, large streams and lakes. Needs plenty of vegetation, muddy bottoms and abundant basking sites. (DNR)

Habitat: Usually associated with deep-water areas of coastal plain rivers and associated floodplain marshes, and ponds. Typically found in areas with a soft silt bottom, lots of aquatic vegetation and numerous basking sites, such as logs and debris. Can also be found in brackish water, near river mouths. (DNR)

Range: This species is not native to Maryland. It is naturally found in the southern United States and was introduced by people releasing pet turtles into the wild. Currently, they can be found in the north and central parts of the state, as far south as Prince George's County.

Habitat: Prefers slow warm waters of ponds, lakes, marshes, streams with muddy bottoms, abundant aquatic vegetation and basking rocks and logs. (DNR)

Range: This is primarily a southeastern species; its range stretches from Virginia to Florida, with some sightings in Indiana. This turtle has not been collected in Maryland but it has been seen in tributaries of the Potomac River in Virginia.

Habitat: This species prefers slow moving waters - rivers or large streams, ponds, swamps, and marshes - with plenty of vegetation, basking sites and rocky bottoms. It is tolerant of brackish water. (DNR)

Habitat: Cosmopolitan in habitat preference. Any permanent body of freshwater. Can also be found in brackish water. (DNR)

Habitat: Primarily aquatic species, this turtle prefers rivers and tributaries in Western Maryland. Has been seen in ponds; prefers sandy substrates and aquatic vegetation. (DNR)

Habitat: A wide variety of shallow wetlands are used including wet meadows, freshwater marshes, bogs, swamps, small ponds, ditches, small woodland streams, Delmarva Bays and tidally influenced brackish streams. All typically have a soft substrate and some aquatic or emergent vegetation. They also seasonally spend time away from water, typically in woodlands, pastures and fields. (DNR)

Range: Thus far, this has been found in Anne Arundel and Caroline Counties, though it likely is on the Coastal Plain from those counties south to the Virginia line in appropriate habitat.

Habitat: The few places it has been found in Maryland and Delaware are all associated with the upper reaches of tidal fresh rivers and creeks and the adjacent forested floodplain and upland habitat. Range wide, it is also found in hardwood and cypress swamps, streams, sloughs, blackwater rivers, ponds, lakes, wet meadows, Carolina Bays, and drainage ditches. (DNR)

Habitat: Takes advantage of both aquatic and terrestrial habitats, but always remains near water. On land, they may be found in a variety of usually forested habitats, but may be found in fields and meadows and wetlands. In aquatic areas, they prefer clear moving streams or rivers with gravel or hard-packed bottoms. (DNR)

Habitat: Traditionally found in rivers, ditches, and lakes. (DNR)