After attempting to find herps in the outskirts of Memphis to no avail, my girlfriend, who doubles as my all-time photographer, and I broke down and went to Shelby Farms. Here we were hoping to capture a photograph of one of the many frogs we could hear, but, after the inevitable scare from a snake and zero luck in sneaking up on a frog, we managed to catch a few photographs of Trachemys scripta, or red-eared slider. Red-eared sliders are very common as pets; until that new law against keeping turtles as pets was passed, of course. As you should deduce from the turtle's common name, the telltale marking is a red blotch behind the eye.
All I could find on who came up with the taxonomic name was this ---> http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=173823
According to Jeff LeClere at http://www.herpnet.net/Iowa-Herpetology/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=74&Itemid=26,the red-eared slider can be found anywhere along the Mississippi River. These reptiles have an affinity for any permanent body of water, be it a pond, marsh, river etc. Native to southern and southeastern United States and northern Mexico, Trachemys scripta is apparently very adept at existing, as is exemplified by its label as an invasive species. Everywhere from California to Australia, Trachemys scripta is invading native wildlife's territories and multiplying. Australia even sent out an alert against red-eared sliders, which can be viewed at the following link: http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/imported_assets/content/pw/vp/toad/red-earedslideralert.pdf . In fact, a major method by which red-eared sliders are introduced into the wild is a previous pet owner letting them go free into the wilderness. Granted, these turtles can live 50-70 years, so I may be able to say some of those owners got too old to properly care for them. By the way, if you happen to be in Australia and find a red-eared slider, just call 1-800-084-881. No joke.
As is shown in the picture above and one that is to follow, Trachemys scripta absolutely love basking in the sun.
Like crocodilia, this turtle can move incredibly quickly in short bursts. My younger brother called me while Dayne was preparing to take this picture. As soon as I answered, "Hello", which was a fraction of a second before Dayne took this picture, this turtle leaped into the water. This action occurred so quickly that, once the shutter of the camera reopened, the turtle was already out of sight. If you (yes, I am self-indulging enough to assume that I will have at least one reader that I can specifically address) look at this picture closely enough, you can see that this turtle is in pre-mid jump. I'm not sure if these pictures can be double-clicked and zoomed in upon, but take a look at its eye. It reminds me of the velociraptors' eyes on Jurassic Park...
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