The painted turtle is the only species of Chrysemys, one of the pond
turtles. It lives in slow-moving freshwaters, from southern Canada to
the Louisiana Gulf Coast and northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to
the Pacific. Four U.S. states name the painted turtle as their official
reptile. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years
ago, but four regionally based subspecies (the eastern, midland,
southern, and western) evolved during the last ice age.
The turtle's skin is olive to black with distinctive red, orange, or
yellow stripes. Reliant on warmth from its surroundings, the painted
turtle can frequently be seen basking on logs. Crayfish and dragonflies
are among the turtle's preferred prey. Many predators eat the turtle
eggs or hatchlings, but the adult's shell protects it from most enemies
except for raccoons, alligators and humans. Turtles in the wild can
live for more than 55 years.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_turtle>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1807:
French brothers Claude and Nicéphore Niépce received a patent for their
Pyréolophore, one of the world's first internal combustion engines.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyr%C3%A9olophore>
1922:
The German protectorate of Togoland was divided into the League of
Nations mandates of French Togoland and British Togoland.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Togoland>
1936:
The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Turkish Straits was
signed in Montreux, Switzerland, allowing Turkey to fortify the
Dardanelles and the Bosphorus but guaranteeing free passage to ships of
all nations in peacetime.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreux_Convention_Regarding_the_Regime_of_the_Turkish_Straits>
1940:
The Arroyo Seco Parkway, one of the first freeways built in the United
States, opened to traffic, connecting Downtown Los Angeles with
Pasadena, California.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arroyo_Seco_Parkway>
1976:
The Viking 1 lander became the first spacecraft to successfully land
on Mars and perform its mission.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_1>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
Aristarch (n):
A severe critic
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Aristarch>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Hitherto your eyes have been darkened and you have looked too much,
yes, far too much, upon the things of earth. If these so much delight
you what shall be your rapture when you lift your gaze to things
eternal!
--Petrarch
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Petrarch>