<P> The painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) is the most widespread native turtle of North America . It lives in slow - moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to Louisiana and northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific . The turtle is the only species of the genus Chrysemys, which is part of the pond turtle family Emydidae . Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago . Four regionally based subspecies (the eastern, midland, southern, and western) evolved during the last ice age . </P> <P> The adult painted turtle female is 10--25 cm (4--10 in) long; the male is smaller . The turtle's top shell is dark and smooth, without a ridge . Its skin is olive to black with red, orange, or yellow stripes on its extremities . The subspecies can be distinguished by their shells: the eastern has straight - aligned top shell segments; the midland has a large gray mark on the bottom shell; the southern has a red line on the top shell; the western has a red pattern on the bottom shell . </P> <P> The turtle eats aquatic vegetation, algae, and small water creatures including insects, crustaceans, and fish . Although they are frequently consumed as eggs or hatchlings by rodents, canines, and snakes, the adult turtles' hard shells protect them from most predators . Reliant on warmth from its surroundings, the painted turtle is active only during the day when it basks for hours on logs or rocks . During winter, the turtle hibernates, usually in the mud at the bottom of water bodies . The turtles mate in spring and autumn . Females dig nests on land and lay eggs between late spring and mid-summer . Hatched turtles grow until sexual maturity: 2--9 years for males, 6--16 for females . </P> <P> In the traditional tales of Algonquian tribes, the colorful turtle played the part of a trickster . In modern times, four U.S. states have named the painted turtle their official reptile . While habitat loss and road killings have reduced the turtle's population, its ability to live in human - disturbed settings has helped it remain the most abundant turtle in North America . Adults in the wild can live for more than 55 years . </P>

Where do painted turtles live in the winter
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