The Caspian turtle

The Caspian turtle or Striped-neck terrapin (Mauremys caspica) is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae, living of the eastern Mediterranean region. It ranges from southwestern former USSR and central Iran to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Israel and Lebanon, northward through Turkey to Bulgaria, and through Cyprus, Crete, and the Ionian Peninsula to former Yugoslavia. This is a tan to blackish, medium-sized (to 25 cm), semi-aquatic turtle. Its low, oval carapace has a slight medial keel (better developed in juveniles) and a smooth unserrated marginal border, which is slightly upturned and tapered above the tail. A pair of low lateral keels are present on the pleural scutes of hatchlings but these become lower with age and disappear completely in adults. Females are generally larger than males, have flat plastra and shorter tails with the vent under the rim of the carapace. The smaller males have concave plastra and longer, thicker tails with the vent beyond the rim of the carapace. This Maxi card was given by Merja.