Description: 5½ - 8 inches. Wood Turtles have a brown or tan upper shell (carapace) with light yellow lines extending from the center of the growth rings to the edges. Each scale on the shell is domed, giving the turtle a bumpy or sculpted appearance. The bottom shell (plastron) is yellowish in color, with dark smudges on the outer edges of the scales. The head is dark with yellow coloring on the sides of the chin, and on the neck near the shell.

Similar Species: Young Blanding's Turtles may have a rough, semi-sculpted shell, but adults have smooth shells. All Blanding's Turtles have a distinct line where the head changes from dark colored on the top, to bright yellow on the bottom, and the underside of the chin is completely yellow.