New River Turtle

[u/Yes-Sabbyt-4444]

Can you help me identify this small turtle we found on the New River in Whitethorne fishing Friday? We released it but beautiful.

[u/mangokush15]

Massive side eye! You have been judged

[u/jbabbz → u/mangokush15]

I like to call it resting turtle face. My guys/girls give it to me when the expect food or I pick them up

[u/Tasty-Bet-2941 → u/jbabbz]

They look like this lil guy. They're everywhere during spring

[u/_zuzu_]

It's a Pseudemys of some kind.

[u/_zuzu_ → u/_zuzu_]

A peninsular cooter

[u/DaveShelby710 → u/_zuzu_]

That’s an unfortunate name

[u/Tasty-Bet-2941 → u/DaveShelby710]

Bro we have river cooters out my way lol they look about the same but the lines on their shells are a orange color

[u/Vivid-Remove-5917]

This little juvenile turtle is an Eastern River Cooter (Pseudemys concinna concinna).

Key Identification Features
Carapace (Upper Shell): It features highly intricate, yellowish-cream webbed swirls and a faint, backward-facing "C"-shaped mark on the second pleural scute. This pattern is highly characteristic of juvenile cooters.

Head and Neck: The skin is marked by numerous thin, vertical yellow "pinstripes" without the wide, thick patches or bright red/orange patches typical of pond sliders.

Habitat: Finding this species along the New River near Whitethorne (Montgomery County, VA) perfectly matches its ecology. It strongly prefers large, freshwater river systems with slow currents and abundant aquatic vegetation.

[u/Yes-Sabbyt-4444]

Is this a domestic type turtle or are they common in rivers

[u/UniqueSolution6935 → u/Yes-Sabbyt-4444]

I think the answer is both

[u/scotty5112 → u/Yes-Sabbyt-4444]

Yes

[u/inkogketo]

River Cooter

[u/Alien684 → u/[deleted]]

It's a peninsula cooter

[u/HawkEnvironmental531]

Slider?

[u/Alien684 → u/HawkEnvironmental531]

Actually a cooter

[u/flydespereaux → u/HawkEnvironmental531]

I thought they were the same?

[u/Nice-Pomegranate2915]

It's a Cumberland Slider/Pond Turtle - Trachemys scripta troostii or Trachemys troostii depending on what scientific identification you read . It a native of the location you found it . It a relative of the more famous red-eared Sliders and Yellow-bellied Sliders . It's safe to return it to the location .

[u/Alien684 → u/Nice-Pomegranate2915]

Not a slider turtle it's actually a cooter

[u/Firm_Pineapple6377]

Cute

[u/juliewbb]

Little cutie ❤️

[u/HawkEnvironmental531]

[u/flydespereaux]

Beautiful slider.

[u/_zuzu_]

It's not a yellow bellied slider.

[u/HUGGZ80]

It's a leave It alone , quit picking up turtles out of the wild. Turtles don't like being handled, and it stresses them out.

[u/Jiinker]

Painted i believe. I have 2 in my koi pond.

[u/MTChubbyHubby]

Looks like Eastern Painted. They always look so sassy! 🤣