Box Turtles
Terrapene
North American box turtles are land turtles of the genus Terrapene. Although box turtles are superficially similar to tortoises in terrestrial habits and overall appearance, they are actually members of the American pond turtle family (Emydidae). The 12 taxa which are distinguished in the genus are distributed over seven species. They are largely characterized by having a domed shell which is hinged at the bottom, allowing the animal to retract its head and legs and close its shell tightly to protect itself from predators.
7 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 7 known species
Common Box Turtle
speciesTerrapene carolina
Three-toed Box Turtle
speciesTerrapene triunguis
Ornate Box Turtle
speciesTerrapene ornata
Yucatán Box Turtle
speciesTerrapene yucatana
Aquatic Box Turtle
speciesTerrapene coahuila
Mexican Box Turtle
speciesTerrapene mexicana
Sierra Box Turtle
speciesTerrapene nelsoni
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Terrapene in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 39806.