Wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 9

Special Significance of the Species

The Wood Turtle is endemic to North America, and approximately 30% of its range is in Canada. The species was previously in the genus Clemmys and the four species in this genus are the most threatened turtles in North America (Ernst, 2001). Wood Turtles are unique among Canadian freshwater turtles in their highly terrestrial behaviour. Their attractive appearance and colour and seeming intelligence in captivity all serve to make them popular. Wood Turtles also possess a unique “worm stomping” behaviour (Brooks et al., 2003). They alternately stamp their forefeet and plastron on the substrate and then consume earthworms that come to the surface. Just why, or even whether, earthworms do this is not clear, but certainly stomping and subsequent consumption of earthworms has been documented. Perhaps, a better hypothesis for this behaviour is that the turtles scuffle and bounce to flush small invertebrates from the litter on the forest floor and in doing so may uncover worms (M. Ireland, pers. comm. Sept. 2007).

 

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