2025 MURAL SPECIES!
eastern box turtle
Gavia immer
STATUS:
US STATUS: No Status/Not Listed
MI STATUS: T - Threatened (Legally Protected)
Description:
The Eastern Box Turtle is a small land turtle with a high-domed carapace (top part of shell) and a hinged plastron (bottom part of shell) which allows it to close its shell tightly and hide its head, legs and tail. The carapace has a slight keel (raised ridge) along the midline and ranges from 5-8 inches (12-20 cm) in length. It is brown or black with a highly variable pattern of yellow or orange markings within each scute (a large scale or plate). The plastron can be yellowish, brown or black and is either plain or marked with blotches or lines. Males are usually larger and more brightly colored than females, often have reddish or pinkish eyes (brown in females) and a concave plastron (flat or slightly convex in females).
Habitat and Occurrence
If you’re looking to find Manoomin for yourself, check within the following ecosystems within the green counties on the map!
• Coastal Fen
• Great Lakes Emergent Marsh
• Inundated Shrub Swamp
• Mesic Northern Forest
• Mesic Southern Forest
• Northern Fen
• Northern Hardwood Swamp
• Northern Shrub Thicket
• Oak Openings
• Oak-pine Barrens
• Prairie Fen
• Southern Hardwood Swamp
• Southern Shrub-carr
All information on this page is generously provided by the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI). For more information about Eastern Box Turtles - visit the species description here: mnfi.anr.msu.edu/eastern-box-turtle. To learn more about Michigan’s biodiversity, ecological communities and natural heritage, visit mnfi.anr.msu.edu
get involved with eastern box turtle conservation!
While there are currently no Community Science projects specifically operating to benefit the preservation of Eastern Box Turtles in Michigan, there are many organizations who work to protect the habitats where it resides! Volunteer with some of these organizations and help protect the habitat that Eastern Box Turtles needs in order to survive.
report an observation
MNFI stewards the Michigan Natural Heritage Database and track observations of some of Michigan’s rarest forms of life to fully understand the population and range of rare species to protect biodiversity in Michigan. If you have encountered an Eastern Box Turtle, you can share the location information with these trusted conservation professionals here: mnfi.anr.msu.edu/species/report