How To Tell Turtle Gender Infographic
This infographic provides a detailed explanation of how to distinguish between male and female turtles. It outlines seven key differences:
- Shell: The shell of an adult female turtle is slightly longer than that of a male.
- Plastron: The plastron (the underside of the turtle’s shell) is concave in males and flat in females.
- Tail: Male turtles have a small notch on the back side of the carapace (the top part of the shell) to accommodate the tail during mating, making their tails appear notched or V-shaped.
- Species-defined features: The infographic gives examples for specific species like the American box turtle, which has orange or red irises in males and yellow or brown in females. It also mentions the sun turtle, where males have a blue shade on their underbellies.
- Claws: Male turtles have longer claws on their front legs compared to females. This is attributed to the males using their long claws to defend territory and fight.
- Cloaca: In females, the cloaca (the common cavity at the end of the digestive tract for the release of both excretory and genital products) appears rounder and star-like, closer to the body. In males, it has a slit-like appearance and is located towards the tip of the tail, much farther from the body.
- Tail size: The infographic emphasizes that male turtles have much longer and thicker tails than females because the male’s genitalia are located inside the tail.
About Author
Muntaseer Rahman started keeping pet turtles back in 2013. He also owns the largest Turtle & Tortoise Facebook community in Bangladesh. These days he is mostly active on Facebook.
