Eastern Painted Turtle Eggs - Chrysemys picta picta
This turtle nest was unfortunately destroyed by a predator - probably a red fox (Vulpes vulpes), but possible a raccoon (Procyon lotor). I found two sites where the eggs had been dug up on the side of this pond.
Painted turtle nests are vase-shaped and are usually dug in sandy soil within 200 m of water. The female digs with her hind feet. She lubricates the area with urine, and once the nest is complete, she deposits eggs into the hole. The freshly laid eggs are white, elliptical, and flexible.
The painted turtle is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The turtle is the only species of the genus "Chrysemys", which is part of the pond turtle family Emydidae. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago.
