Dedicated exclusively to field herping.
Moderator: Scott Waters
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herpseeker1978
- Posts: 1143
- Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:05 am
- Location: Albuquerque
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by herpseeker1978 » March 28th, 2015, 2:45 pm
Found this in Albuquerque today:
I know the one in front is a RES, but I'm unsure on the other. Any ideas?
Josh
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Soro
- Posts: 39
- Joined: June 6th, 2011, 7:24 pm
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by Soro » March 28th, 2015, 4:20 pm
That mystery one is definitely a melanistic red-eared slider. Around St. Louis sliders are the most abundant turtle to turn up in ponds and reservoirs, and melanistic males are pretty common.
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simus343
- Posts: 566
- Joined: March 30th, 2014, 12:16 pm
- Location: Okaloosa ca, Fla.
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by simus343 » March 28th, 2015, 4:37 pm
Old RES will lose the red coloration as they age. One day at work my boss (who is a herpetologist that focuses on turtles) had a surprise herp quiz for fun with a turtle he received. I couldn't ID it at first, I was stumped. Turned out it was a very old RES that had lost its red ear coloration.
So may be melanistic, but more likely (in my opinion) just an old Red-Ear Slider.
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Mike VanValen
- Posts: 2073
- Joined: June 7th, 2010, 3:41 pm
- Location: Connecticut
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by Mike VanValen » March 28th, 2015, 9:41 pm
Old red-eared sliders and melanism go hand-in-hand.
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Noah M
- Posts: 2289
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- Location: Gainesville, FL
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by Noah M » March 29th, 2015, 4:52 pm
I concur with what has been said about age and melanin.
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simus343
- Posts: 566
- Joined: March 30th, 2014, 12:16 pm
- Location: Okaloosa ca, Fla.
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by simus343 » March 30th, 2015, 1:51 pm
So as they age they become melanistic? I thought a true melanistic would be a trait exhibited from birth.