October 3, 2000 at 9:08 pm
#13480
Ben, It’s hard to say with dbts. The only sure-fire way to identify them in some cases is to get exact field location of the specimen in question. Even then, so much integration has ocurred in their northern and carolinan habitats that it’s hard to tell anymore which specimens are true natives and which ones are integrades. Your dbt does look a lot like a typical Mississippi (M.t. pileata). They are known for their dark, grooved shell, dark skin color, and the characteristic shadowed upper lip that gives that mustache appearance. How did you acquire it – that could give us more clues as to its origins. Cheers. Chun