The natural life expectancy of many vertebrate animals is at best two decades, although by far it is much less for most.
However, there is a species of creature here in Texas that after it has lived for twenty years, it is just getting started! Few animals, even humans for that matter, have the propensity to reach the eight-decade mark like the innocuous Ornate Box Turtle.
The Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata) is one of two species of this genus that inhabits the state of Texas, and the only one that occurs west of the I-35 corridor. It can be observed from the very western portions of Louisiana westward though Texas, southern New Mexico, and Arizona south into northern Mexico.
Box turtles, unlike the more familiar water-inhabiting turtle races, are completely terrestrial, so much so that they will drown if placed in water deeper than that of their shell. The top shell, known as the carapace, is slightly domed and can range from olive to near black in background color. Along the carapace are a series of radiating yellow lines that are more distinctive in young animals than in older adults.
The bottom shell, known as the plastron, is patterned similarly to the carapace.
The total length of the carapace of adults averages around five inches. The tail is extremely short and stubby, as are the legs. The elephant-like legs end in feet that are not webbed.
This species of land-dwelling turtles is sexually dimorphic as adults. Sexually mature males have bright red eyes and red to orange scales on the anterior legs. Females, as well as juvenile males, have yellow eyes and leg scales.
Ornate Box Turtles have adapted to live quite well in arid and semi-arid areas, including even the driest areas of the Trans-Pecos.
They prefer open scrublands and grasslands where they can make small burrows in shady areas. This behavior helps them to avoid the lethal heat of the afternoon as well as protect them from the potential loss of body moisture.
Although they are strictly diurnal (active during daylight hours), during the mid-summer months they are active only at dawn or dusk. The hard downpours of monsoonal Texas showers will also spur them into activity.
This species of box turtle is omnivorous, feeding on both plant and animal matter. The majority of its diet is comprised of insects and other invertebrates, and it apparently prefers grubs and earthworms to most other animal matter. It also feeds on fruits and vegetables, and many are found in countryside gardens feeding on items such as strawberries and plums or peaches that have fallen from their respective trees.
It has been known to feed on small items of carrion as well.
Box turtles are known as such due to the fact that they can draw their head and legs up into their shell and close it, as one would do with a storage box. This phenomenon can be accomplished because there is a prominent hinge that runs crossways on the first third of the plastron. This hinge is made of tough cartilage and gives the hinge its flexibility.
Once common throughout its native range, the Ornate Box Turtle has been in decline over the past few decades. The reasons for this decline are presently unknown, although many scientists speculate that the invasion of imported fire ants may be a leading cause. These ants may feed on the eggs and young of terrestrial turtles, and since it may take up to 15 years for a female box turtle to reach sexual maturity, the reproductive rate is incredibly low.
However, in some portions of their range, box turtles can be quite plentiful, particularly in the sporadic years of abundant rainfall. The cotton-fields of the Panhandle, the sandy-soiled areas of the Permian Basin, and the grasslands of the Upper Trans-Pecos are all regions where one can still observe this docile beast with regularity.
