The yellow mud turtle is a small freshwater turtle with a yellow-brown carapace. It lives in shallow bodies of water and temporary puddles in the central part of North America.
The yellow mud turtle differs from related species by a movable hinge on the lower shell that allows it to close tightly. It is important for nature because it eats aquatic insects and serves as food for birds and mammals.
Immature form that undergoes metamorphosis before adulthood.
Worker
Tail size
birth time
bottom
Hot and almost no precipitation
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
Legs count
days
Warm summer
worms
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
mollusks
beak
adult
Maturity
fish of small size
About health
anything
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
summer warm, winter not very cold
Carapace size
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
Uses jaws or beak to break hard-shelled or tough food items.
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
rains are very rare, almost a desert
searching the bottom and capturing with jaws
Trophic type
Filters
small fish
Upcoming birthdays
standing fresh waters — lakes, ponds, oxbow lakes
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
Desert and dry shrubs
rains almost always, very humid
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Foraging occurs on the floor of aquatic or terrestrial habitats.
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
algae
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
dry, cold winter, lots of grass, few trees
Warm summer and frequent rains
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
Egg shell count
Regeneration
Carapace color
Arid steppe
summer warm, rains frequent
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
swampy freshwater biotopes — peat bogs, marshes, river mangroves
live snails, mussels, oysters
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
Freshwater
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
65 to 130 grams, 25 – 60 centimeters
Pets
all rivers and lakes
Nearctic realm
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
{name} jubilee
paw
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
desert and semi-desert
turns
Rascals
Litter size
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
all rivers and lakes
Describes food handling or digging performed with the forelimbs.
insects living in water or near water — mayflies, caddisflies, stoneflies
Locomotion through water employed while searching for or capturing prey.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
lakes and ponds
freshwater marsh and wetlands
Taxons
freshwater pelagic
if born as {name}
omnivore
age
birth date
swimming
arid terrestrial biotopes with sparse vegetation
Close
Egg shell color
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
dry, lots of grass, few trees
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
teeth
burrow
Potential Habitat
lots of grass, few trees, rains are rare
Very hot summer
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Feeding occurs in water bodies such as rivers, lakes, or oceans.
Mass
Plastron color
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Gestation
aquatic
summer very hot, above +25…+30 °C
{name} birthday
live annelid worms
aquatic insects
Nearctic realm
No results found
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
omnivory, they eat plants, animals, and mushrooms — almost any food
On the map
lunge
all life stages
Female ♀
Cold and almost dry
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
open water in the water column of a freshwater body, away from the bottom and shore
birth year
lots of grass, few trees, rains occur
Maturity
Plastron count
sq mm
yr
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
Legs color
What if eaten?
Very dry
Neither
What do they eat?
dry and cold almost all year round
Where do they live?
from birth to death
early young
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
Freshwater
Duration
This is me
Steppe
freshwater
Always very wet
Gamers
aquatic plants and algae
crushing
How are they built?
Temperate steppe
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
Carapace count
Asexual
swap
freshwater environment — rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps
active predation
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Head color
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Cold steppe
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
very hot and almost no precipitation
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
embryo
Carrot
Hard, projecting mouthpart used to probe, pluck, or crack food.
Length
kg
very hot and dry, rare rains, cacti live
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
Observations
◉{N} more on tap