Clemmys guttata
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), the only species of the genus Clemmys, is a small, semi-aquatic turtle. Their broad, smooth, low upper shell, or carapace, reaches 8–12 cm (3.1–4.7 in) upon adulthood, and ranges in its exact colour from black to a bluish black with a number of tiny yellow round spots. The spotting patterning extends from the head, to the neck and out onto the limbs. Sexually mature males have a concave plastron and a long, thick tail. By contrast, sexually mature females possess a flat plastron and have a tail that is noticeably shorter and thinner than that of mature males. Mature males also have a dark iris and face; females typically have a yellow or orange iris and a similarly coloured face that is distinctly lighter than the males'. Juveniles appear female-like in this regard, and at maturity males begin to develop darker features.
Spotted turtles are aquatic omnivores that inhabit a variety of semi-aquatic or in other words, shallow, fresh-water areas such as flooded forests, marshes, wet meadows, bogs and woodland streams in southern Canada (Ontario) and the eastern US: the eastern Great Lakes and east of the Appalachian Mountains.
The spotted... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Denver Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | North Carolina Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Tulsa Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Greensboro Science Center | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Brookfield Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Nashville Zoo at Grassmere | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Sedgwick County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Oakland Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Cape May County Park & Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Louisville Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Bear Country USA | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 17 | ABQ BioPark: Zoo, Aquarium, Botanic Garden | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Bannerghatta Zoo | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 19 | Caldwell Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 20 | Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 21 | San Francisco Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 22 | Tanganyika Wildlife Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 23 | Metro Richmond Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 24 | Virginia Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 25 | Maine Wildlife Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 26 | Potter Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 27 | Faunia | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 28 | Rosamond Gifford Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 29 | Lincoln Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 30 | Turtle Back Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 31 | Western North Carolina Nature Center | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 32 | John Ball Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 33 | Buffalo Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 34 | Lehigh Valley Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 35 | Erie Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 36 | Seneca Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 37 | Stone Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 38 | North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 39 | Zoo de Córdoba | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 40 | Salisbury Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 41 | Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 42 | Elmwood Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 43 | Greenville Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 44 | Adventure Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 45 | Zoo Samara | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 46 | North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 47 | North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 48 | Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 49 | Birch Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 50 | Bird Kingdom | 🇨🇦 Canada |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Turtle sighting in Shenandoah National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 20th most-seen of the 20 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and May
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Turtle in Shenandoah National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June to March, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spotted Turtle sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Shenandoah National Park, in our data
Shenandoah National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Spotted Turtle sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Emydidae
The closest relatives of the Spotted Turtle that you can see in Shenandoah National Park (family Emydidae, Pond and Box Turtles) are Common Box Turtle (about 50%), Painted Turtle (about 10%) and Northern Red-bellied Cooter (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spotted Turtle is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Shenandoah National Park (11 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
