Bog turtle  (Glyptemys muhlenbergii)

Easily identifiable by the bright yellow, orange or red blotch on each side of the head (4), the bog turtle is a very small turtle with a light brown to black shell (2). Each bony plate that makes up the slightly elongated shell usually has a light centre (2). When young, the shell of the bog turtle has a rough texture, but this is worn almost entirely smooth with age, the result of much burrowing (4). The shell on the underside of the turtle (the plastron) is dark brown to black with a few irregular light markings, while the skin on all the other parts of the body is brown, sometimes streaked or speckled with a little red or orange (2). Male bog turtles differ in appearance from females by their longer, thicker tails and their concave plastron, while females have a wider and more domed shell (2).