painted turtles have looked about the same for fifteen million years. what in world could be the evolutionary advantage of hiding all that color and pattern under a drab army green shell?
painted turtle plastron (belly)
sucker lake trail, siant paul, minnesta
p.s this shy little guy, about 4 inches in size, was alive and well and released within minutes of his photo shoot
hmm. i think i may be familiar with that kind of rut.
the bright colours and marks are probably to be noticed from under the water. I do know that global warming with increasing water temperatures is creating more females of the species