Terrapene ornata
Ornate Box Turtle

Rare. Terrestrial. Carapace forms flattened dome with radiating pattern. Plastron marked boldly with reticulation of black and yellow. Hind foot with four toes. Species account on iNaturalist

Arkansas Game & Fish Commission
Species of Greatest Conservation Need

Arkansas Herpetological Atlas 2019

This species is represented by 36 records from 10 sources: 20 museum (), 1 literature (), 0 research (), and 14 observation (), with 1 additional Trauth et al. (2004) locality points remaining unsourced (). It has been museum vouchered for 4 of 75 counties (), with 12 additional counties having other forms of reported occurrence (). Years of collection range from 1947 to 2017.

This uncommon species inhabits tallgrass prairie remnants of the Springfield Plateau in northwest Arkansas, the western Arkansas Valley, and Grand Prairie region. Negative impacts from agriculture and urban expansion have resulted in range contractions due to habitat loss, with known viable populations largely restricted to managed properties, such as Ft. Chaffee and ANHC reserves. The borders with Missouri and Oklahoma, as well as the southwest corner of the state, may harbor additional occurrences. Scattered records elsewhere in the state are presumed to be misidentifications of T. triunguis or transplants (ASUMZ 1053, 4566, 5882-5883, 13334, and 29432; HSU 832; UAFMC 0068-0735-2302, 0068-0735-2305, and 0068-0735-2307; UMMZ 96568-96569).