Mesoamerican Slider Terrapin Trachemys venusta

The Mesoamerican Slider is a terrapin inhabiting freshwater and mildly salty water in Mexico and Central America.
The photos on this page were taken by Alexandra Makhnina.

In the warm, brackish water of Yucatan cenotes, the attractive, orange-squared pattern of many of the terrapins' shells is obscured by algae growth.