Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata AgassizLegler, John M.
Science
Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz
Legler, John M.
Ornate box turtle
Evidence found in the present study suggested that at least a few
females lay more than one clutch of eggs per year. Among 34 specimens
obtained in June and July, eight (24 per cent) had corpora lutea (or
easily discernible corpora albicantia) and at least two follicles more
than 15 millimeters in diameter; in three specimens (9 per cent) the
ovaries bore fresh corpora lutea (representing recent ovulations) and
a set of older corpora lutea (representing ovulations that had
occurred several weeks previously). It was thought that each of these
eleven females (33 per cent of sample) had produced or would have
produced two clutches of eggs in the season of its capture. The number
of large follicles present after the first set of ovulations (mean,
3.5) was fewer in most instances than the average clutch-size (see
below), indicating that second clutches are smaller than first
clutches. Smaller second clutches were found also in _T. carolina_
(Legler, 1958).
Further evidence for multiple clutches was the absence of enlarged
ovarian follicles in some females obtained in September. Atretic
follicles, ordinarily orange, brown, or purplish, were observed on the
ovaries of many of the females examined; in most instances, not more
than two follicles of the small or medium size groups were atretic.
Atresia was in no instance great enough to account for the complete
loss of enlarged follicles.
Further study probably will show that many of the females laying in
May and early June lay again before the end of July, and that eggs in
the oviducts of females captured in the latter month frequently
represent second clutches. Under favorable conditions, eggs laid by
the end of July would have a good chance of hatching before the advent
of cold weather in autumn; turtles hatching too late to escape from
the nest could burrow into its sides and probably escape freezing
temperatures.
Cagle's findings concerning _Pseudemys scripta_ (1950:38) and
_Chrysemys picta_ (1954:228-9) suggest that these species lay more
than one clutch per season, at least in the southern parts of their
ranges. Carr (1952) indicated that multiple layings were known in most
species of marine turtles (families Dermochelydae and Chelonidae) and
strongly suspected in other species. Other turtles recorded to have
produced multiple clutches in a single season (based chiefly on
captive specimens or cultured populations) include: the starred
tortoise, _Geochelone elegans_ (Deraniyagala, 1939:287); the Asiatic
trionychid, _Lissemys punctata_ (_op. cit._:304); the diamond-backed
terrapin, _Malaclemys terrapin_ (Hildebrand and Prytherch, 1947:2);
and the Japanese soft-shelled turtle, _Trionyx japonicus_ (Mitsukuri,
1895, cited by Cagle, 1950:38).
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