Diamondback Terripan

NJSnakeMan

NJSnakeMan

Explorer
Jun 3, 2004
332
0
34
Atlantic County
Today i was riding my bike on our towns bikepath and 15 ft away i just happened to see a turtle poking his head out of the grass. I live right near atlantic city so i was preety amazed how the turtle cross three busy streets, managed to get through all those people and make it =) I've been going to my local marshes recently to photograph some terripans as i do every year but had no luck. hmm maybe im herping in the wrong places =D

here are some attached pics

Brandon
 
Teegate

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
26,088
8,886
NJSnakeMan said:
Sorry for the bad pic attachment, wouldnt let me post a file bigger then 100, so i just put the terripan pics on my site. There are 4 pics of him, and 2 habitat shots. Luckily i found him before someone else did, they might of took him home and kept him!

http://www.bcurtis1.photosite.com/animalsandlocalwildlife/Chapter2/000_1718.html
Click to expand...

Nice find! I have never found a turtle like that.

BTW, I removed the attachments because they broke the boundaries of Ben's pages.

Guy
 
Ben Ruset

Ben Ruset

Administrator
Site Administrator
Oct 12, 2004
7,619
1,878
Monmouth County
www.benruset.com
Stu

Stu

Explorer
Feb 19, 2004
466
3
43
White Haven, PA
www.stuofdoom.com
Speaking of turtles, we came across this big girl just down the road from Alloway's Rock. Is this just a box turtle? If so, I've never seen one this large. Shell length was a bit over 2 feet, I'd say. Except for the underpart, the shell was completely black. She snorted at me too.

turtle.jpg

turtle2.jpg
 
Teegate

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
26,088
8,886
She was laying her eggs. That looks exactly like the one I found laying her eggs last year in almost the same area.

Guy
 
NJSnakeMan

NJSnakeMan

Explorer
Jun 3, 2004
332
0
34
Atlantic County
nice pics teegate what camera do you use? There is a local park near by, there are tons of redbelly turtles, painted, musk, snappers and occasionally you'll run into a box, terripan or a slider. I just went there a couple days a go and there are tons of turtle nests and turtle egg shells laying aroud everywhere.
 
Teegate

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
26,088
8,886
NJSnakeMan said:
nice pics teegate what camera do you use? There is a local park near by, there are tons of redbelly turtles, painted, musk, snappers and occasionally you'll run into a box, terripan or a slider. I just went there a couple days a go and there are tons of turtle nests and turtle egg shells laying aroud everywhere.
Click to expand...


My camera is old....a 2.1MP Canon . I have another shot of one of the red belly turtles that BobM is holding that I really like, but I don't want to keep posting photo's of people who may not want to be in them and may feel funny telling me. So I have been trying to hold back on them for that reason.

Thanks

Guy
 
bobpbx

bobpbx

Piney
Staff member
Oct 25, 2002
14,767
4,965
Pines; Bamber area
TeeGate said:
My camera is old....a 2.1MP Canon . I have another shot of one of the red belly turtles that BobM is holding that I really like, but I don't want to keep posting photo's of people who may not want to be in them and may feel funny telling me. So I have been trying to hold back on them for that reason.

Thanks

Guy
Click to expand...

Guy, you are one of the most considerate people I know. Thats whats cool about you.........:cool:
 
woodjin

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,374
377
Near Mt. Misery
I saw a diamondback terripan on greatbay blvd. in Tuckerton about a month ago. There was a sign all the way at the end of the blvd. that gave some information about the turtle. I believe they referred to it as "a species of consideration" or something like that. Doesn't sound like an official classification but they were saying that numbers are diminishing due to predators and road kill. It was on the way back that I saw one and immeditely moved him off the road.

Jeff
 
Bobbleton

Bobbleton

Explorer
Mar 12, 2004
466
46
NJ
woodjin said:
I saw a diamondback terripan on greatbay blvd. in Tuckerton about a month ago. There was a sign all the way at the end of the blvd. that gave some information about the turtle. I believe they referred to it as "a species of consideration" or something like that. Doesn't sound like an official classification but they were saying that numbers are diminishing due to predators and road kill. It was on the way back that I saw one and immeditely moved him off the road.

Jeff
Click to expand...


Its "species of special concern" . . . NJ's rank just below threatened--which gives it really no good protections status. Box and spotted turtles are also special concern.

Its funny that you meantion Great Bay . . . I was there about a month ago and in the course of one drive we saw 6 hatchlings on the road. 3 alive, 2 dead, and one who was alive when we spotted him and dead when the bastard behind us refused to slow down or swerve (despite our best efforts).

Here's one of the little guys we were able to help cross safely:
P5270828sm.jpg


-Bob
 
Teegate

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
26,088
8,886
Bobbleton said:
Its "species of special concern" . . . NJ's rank just below threatened--which gives it really no good protections status. Box and spotted turtles are also special concern.

Its funny that you meantion Great Bay . . . I was there about a month ago and in the course of one drive we saw 6 hatchlings on the road. 3 alive, 2 dead, and one who was alive when we spotted him and dead when the bastard behind us refused to slow down or swerve (despite our best efforts).

Here's one of the little guys we were able to help cross safely:
P5270828sm.jpg


-Bob
Click to expand...

Nice turtle, and photo.

Guy
 
NJSnakeMan

NJSnakeMan

Explorer
Jun 3, 2004
332
0
34
Atlantic County
The babies are so cute looking, I wonder if they started hatching yet, i should ride down to the marsh and snap some pictures.... The sad thing about it though is I always find more DOR then AOR terripans
 
Bobbleton

Bobbleton

Explorer
Mar 12, 2004
466
46
NJ
NJSnakeMan said:
The babies are so cute looking, I wonder if they started hatching yet, i should ride down to the marsh and snap some pictures.... The sad thing about it though is I always find more DOR then AOR terripans
Click to expand...


The only things you'll find this time of year are nesting females and raided nests. Its still at the end of nesting season--i'm pretty sure gestation is around 70 days . . . and even at that alot of the hatchlings seem to overwinter (a fact i was ignorant of until seeing hordes of them crossing the roads in may). You'd have better luck at the end of summer/beginning of fall.

-Bob
 
woodjin

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,374
377
Near Mt. Misery
Yes, species of special concern, now I remember. I didn't realize that was an official classification. I am not so surprised that the spotted turtle is on that list but I am surprised that the box turtle is on there. I see box turtles pretty frequently, I see spotted turtles fairly often also, but I am often in areas where they would be likely to be. When I was growing up in Monmouth county there were box turtles everywhere. It really wasn't all that long ago.

Jeff
 
Bobbleton

Bobbleton

Explorer
Mar 12, 2004
466
46
NJ
woodjin said:
Yes, species of special concern, now I remember. I didn't realize that was an official classification. I am not so surprised that the spotted turtle is on that list but I am surprised that the box turtle is on there. I see box turtles pretty frequently, I see spotted turtles fairly often also, but I am often in areas where they would be likely to be. When I was growing up in Monmouth county there were box turtles everywhere. It really wasn't all that long ago.

Jeff
Click to expand...

I hear ya. I've lived in northern ocean . . . forever. When i was younger I'd see box turtles in the woods and crossing roads all over the place. I once saw 15 box turtles in the period of two hours in allaire. Now . . . I can spend a whole day there . . . or at any of my frequents and I'm hard pressed to find one. I think habitat fragmentation has alot to do with it. Most turtles I've found are ancient--and have likely been around longer than alot of the roads I drive on. I think they're too far apart and the pavement-crossing journeys are too perilous for a healthy breeding population to be sustained in most areas. You almost never ever see juveniles, and I think their longevity gives away how bad their situation is. Once DEP gets a fix on the fact that the remaining adults are non-breeding leftovers from a healthier time--I wouldn't be surprised to see them on the threatened list in the near future.

-Bob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top