Basking Turtles

A pile-up of turtles. But not all of these are Red-eared Sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans), which dominate the waters in Prospect Park. If you look closely, you’ll notice one of the shells is rather smoother than the others, and, although out of focus, its red highlights on the underside sing out “Painted Turtle” (Chrysemys picta).Here’s another, one of half a dozen amid the dozens of RES. A gorgeous shell, I think you will agree (no filtering here, btw).And another. The most Painteds I’ve ever seen in the Lullwater.Lots of flaming red underneath, the Painteds, but no red on the head. (Older RES tend to lose their red “ear” mark, though.)Are you ready to pick out the Painted now?

This one, however, is baffling me:Beautifully patterned carapace. Note how smooth it is in comparison to the gnarly RES one.Any ideas on what this is? The park’s waters are used as a dumping ground by fools and idiots, as in the case of this never solved soft-shell I spotted last October.