ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROFILE

PROTECTION STATUS: Not listed

PETITIONED: 2012

RANGE: Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States, from the southern tip of Lake Michigan to the St. Lawrence valley, as well as the upper reaches of the Ohio River system; also the Atlantic coastal lowlands and foothills from New Hampshire (possibly southern Maine), southward to northern Florida

THREATS: Habitat loss and fragmentation, overcollection, road mortality, climate change, predation
 
POPULATION TREND: Although the spotted turtle is widespread and used to be the most common turtle species in some areas, it has likely suffered an overall reduction in population size of more than 50 percent, with much of this loss irreversible because of habitat depletion.

Photo courtesy Flickr/Zack