The bog turtle is a semiaquatic turtle that is endemic to the eastern United States. It was discovered in Pennsylvania in the 18th century and first scientifically described in 1801. It is the smallest North American turtle, measuring about 10 centimeters (4 in) long when fully grown. Although the bog turtle is similar in appearance to the painted or spotted turtles, its closest relative is the somewhat larger wood turtle. The bog turtle can be found from Vermont in the north, south to Georgia and west to Ohio. Diurnal and secretive, it spends most of its time buried in mud and, during the winter months, in hibernation. The bog turtle is omnivorous, feeding mainly on small invertebrates. Adult bog turtles weigh 110 grams (3.9 oz) on average. Their skins and shells are typically dark brown, with a distinctive orange spot on each side of the neck. Considered threatened at the federal level, the bog turtle is protected under the United States' Endangered Species Act. Invasive plants and urban development have eradicated much of the bog turtle's habitat, substantially reducing its numbers. Demand for the bog turtle is high in the black market pet trade, partly because of its small size and unique characteristics. Various private projects have been undertaken in an attempt to reverse the decline in the turtle's population. The turtle has a low reproduction rate; females lay an average of three eggs per clutch and lay one clutch per year. The young tend to grow rapidly, reaching sexual maturity between the ages of 4 and 10 years old. Bog turtles live for an average of 20 to 30 years in the wild. Since 1973, the Bronx Zoo has successfully bred bog turtles in captivity.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bog_turtle

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1813:

Napoleonic Wars: Forces of the Sixth Coalition under Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly captured French General Dominique Vandamme and thousands of his soldiers at the Battle of Kulm. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kulm

1835:

European settlers landing on the north banks of the Yarra River in Southern Australia founded the city of Melbourne. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne

1862:

American Civil War: James Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson led their Confederate troops to a decisive victory against John Pope's Union Army at the Second Battle of Bull Run in Prince William County, Virginia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Bull_Run

1918:

Fanny Kaplan shot and wounded Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, helping to spark the Red Terror in the Soviet Union, a repression against Socialist-Revolutionary Party members and other political opponents. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Terror

1999:

The people of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in a United Nations-supervised referendum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Timor

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

nougat (n): A confection of honey or sugar and roasted nuts, often with other ingredients http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nougat

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The animals of the Burgess Shale are holy objects — in the unconventional sense that this word conveys in some cultures. We do not place them on pedestals and worship from afar. We climb mountains and dynamite hillsides to find them. We quarry them, split them, carve them, draw them, and dissect them, struggling to wrest their secrets. We vilify and curse them for their damnable intransigence. They are grubby little creatures of a sea floor 530 million years old, but we greet them with awe because they are the Old Ones, and they are trying to tell us something. --Stephen Jay Gould http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stephen_Jay_Gould