Description: Females 5 - 10¾ inches, males 3½ - 5¾ inches. False Map Turtles have a dark olive or brown upper shell (carapace). Young turtles have a row of saw-toothed knobs down the center of the back. As they age the knobs will wear down. Adult male False Map Turtles usually keep pronounced knobs, but they may be very hard to detect in large females. The bottom shell (plastron) is light colored, and usually has no markings. The head is dark colored with light lines extending up the neck to the back of the eye. There is a light colored line behind each eye that extends to the top of the head, and then turns backwards down the neck. Some False Map Turtles maybe have a line that behind the eye that wraps around to the bottom of the eye.

Similar Species: Common Map Turtles do not have a light colored line behind each eye. Ouachita Map Turtles have a large spot behind the eye, under the eye, and on the lower jaw.