Water turtle (Emmys orbicolaris)
The Caspian turtle (Mauremys rivulata, Valenciennes, 1833) is a species of freshwater turtle in the family Geoemydidae. Together with the spotted water turtle, they are the only native species of freshwater turtles in our country. It is found in the Balkan Peninsula (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Greece), Turkey, Cyprus, Israel and Syria. The distribution of the species in the Greek area includes mainland Greece, the Peloponnese, Evia, Crete, several Aegean and Ionian islands.
The length of the eel (shell) does not exceed 30 cm. Females are larger than males.
It feeds mainly on invertebrates, but also on fish, amphibians, small snakes, corpses and plants. Females lay 4-6 eggs in holes they dig in soft soil. The hatchlings are 3-3.5 cm long and have three keels along it. Females become sexually mature after their tenth year of age.