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1theTurtleRoom, PO Box 521, Lititz, PA 17543. 2National Park Service, 274 River Road, Beach Lake, PA 18405. 3US Army Corps of Engineers, 701 San Marco Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 32207. 4445 Meadowview Drive, Lebanon, PA 17042. 5Friends for Life Veterinary Care, 273 Grandview Avenue, Honesdale, PA 18431. 6North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 West Jones Street, Raleigh, NC 27601. *Corresponding author.
Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 31, Special Issue 12 (2024): G57–G62
9 June 2024
Abstract
Many invertebrate taxa have been reported attached to the shells of turtles. Freshwater limpets (Planorbidae: Ancylinae) have a widespread distribution in North America that overlaps with many species of freshwater turtles. We have observed 5 cases of Ferrissia californica (Fragile Ancylid) attached to the shells of Glyptemys insculpta (Wood Turtle) in a Pennsylvania stream. Four instances were on live turtles, and 1 case on a deceased individual. We only observed limpets on turtles in the fall season. Herein, we report details of these observations and discuss potential advantages and disadvantages to both turtle and limpet.