Clemmys marmorata

Adult female.
Photograph by James Buskirk

Clemmys marmorata habitat Clemmys marmorata young in habitat

This unlikely looking hillside in Los Angeles County is habitat for possibly the last replicating population of the southwestern pond turtle west of the Santa Monica Mountains. Hatchlings and young can be found here year round in heavily shaded, deep rocky pools, like that seen on the right, whenever they contain water (note the well camouflaged, greenish yearling in the center). Introduced bullfrogs, a major predator elsewhere, are absent from the immediate vicinity, probably because of the ephemeral nature of these rock pools. Photographs by Michael J. Connor

Clemmys marmorata, plastron

Plastron of adult female shown at the left.
Photograph by James Buskirk