Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Family: Emydidae
Genus: Trachemys
Species: T. scripta
Subspecies: T. s. troostii
Trinomial name: Trachemys scripta troostii
Common name: Cumberland Turtle, Cumberland pond slider
Trachemys scripta troostii is a subspecies of semiaquatic turtle (terrapin) in the family Emydidae. There are another two sub-species that make up the T.scripta family, T. scripta.scripta, (Yellow-bellied Slider) T. scripta.elegans,(Red-eared Slider). Trachemys scripta troostii natural habitat is the Mississippi and Tennessee River drainages, and the southeastern United States.
In New Zealand, there are a few of these turtles in private collections.
Trachemys scripta troostii grow up to >22cm long in the shell. The carapace (upper shell) is an olive-brown with yellow markings. It has two rounded projections on the posterior edge of the shell. It is slightly keeled. The adult carapace is wrinkled and oval-shaped. The plastron (underside) is hingeless and slightly smaller than the carapace. Each of the bottom marginal scales has a ringed pattern. The skin is brown with an olive to greenish tint with yellow striping. There is a yellow/orange stripe directly behind each eye. The stripe is never entirely one colour, it starts out yellow and then fades into a dark orange-to-red colour closer to the back of the neck. The plastron of the turtle has dark spots. Also, the plastron has bars or stripes of yellow. The turtle's legs in front have larger yellow stripes than most slider species.
Trachemys scripta troostii is mostly herbivorous as an adult but primarily carnivorous as a juvenile. The adults eat algae, fish, tadpoles, crayfish, seeds, plants, aquatic vegetation, insects, worms, and molluscs.
The female has a clutch size of 6-15 eggs with 71% of the females producing two clutches per year.
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
