This is a juvenile 9.5cm Chinese pond turtle (Mauremys reevesii) playing in a plumbing joint. This species is semiaquatic in the wild, found in marshes, ponds, streams and similar bodies of shallow water. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, threatened by several causes, including competition from introduced species, loss of habitat, and use in Chinese medicine. This species is also popular in the global pet trade. This individual was found on a road in Japan, far from water, when it was only 2.8cm, perhaps picked up and transported by a crow shortly after birth. Though the species had earlier been considered native to Japan, genetic testing in recent years suggests multiple introductions from outside Japan.
{}