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

_______________________________ 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

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

Aristarch (n): A severe critic http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Aristarch

___________________________ 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