Painted Turtle Subspecies
A:Shell olive or green, scutes bordered by yellow. Scute seams aligned to form rectangular pattern, lower shell yellow or orange, usually not patterned. Red markings along edge of shell. Found in eastern seaboard states from Maine to Alabama, but absent from coastal areas of South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. See an example
Eastern Painted Turtle, Chrysemys picta picta
B:Resembling above but scute seams not aligned, lower shell has dark blotch or blotches. Found between the eastern seaboard states and the Great Lakes.
Midland Painted Turtle, Chrysemys picta marginata
C:Shell dark olive or black with orange netlike lines. Edge of shell and lower shell red or orange. Lower shell has intricate pattern. Found west of the Great Lakes.
Western Painted Turtle, Chrysemys picta belli
D:Shell dark olive or black, with red or orange stripe down spine. lower shell yellow. From parts of states bordering the lower Mississippi River, also northwestern Alabama and southeastern Oklahoma.
Midland Painted Turtle, Chrysemys picta marginata
