The wood turtle is a turtle

Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...

 endemic to North America. It is in the genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Glyptemys

Glyptemys

Glyptemys is a genus of turtle in the family Emydidae. It comprises two species, the bog turtle and wood turtle, both of which are endemic to North America. Until 2001, these turtles were considered members of the genus Clemmys, which currently has one member: the spotted turtle.Full grown, these...

, a designation given to only one other turtle: the bog turtle

Bog turtle

The bog turtle is a semiaquatic turtle endemic to the eastern United States. It was first scientifically described in 1801 after an 18th century survey of Pennsylvania. It is the smallest North American turtle, measuring about long when fully grown...

. The wood turtle reaches a carapace

Carapace

A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...

 length of 14 to 20 cm (5.5 to 7.9 in), its defining characteristic being the pyramidal pattern on its upper shell. Morphologically

Morphology (biology)

In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....

, it is similar to the bog turtle, spotted turtle

Spotted Turtle

The Spotted turtle , the only current species of Clemmys, is a small, semi-aquatic turtle that reaches a carapace length of upon adulthood. Their broad, smooth, low dark-colored upper shell, or carapace, ranges in its exact colour from black to a bluish black with a number of yellow tiny round spots...

, and Blanding's Turtle

Blanding's Turtle

Blanding's turtle is a semi-aquatic turtle of the family Emydidae. It is considered to be an endangered species throughout much of its range.-Taxonomy:...

. The wood turtle exists in a broad range extending from Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

 in the north (and east) to Minnesota in the west and Virginia in the south.