uflgator's Identifications

weather conditions: 92 degrees, mostly sunny
environmental context: spotted in ichetucknee springs state park while floating in the spring. the water is very cold here and there were a lot of tree branches in the water.
identifying it: I looked at the iNaturalist recommendations and used those pictures to compare them to the ones I took. I also looked up what turtles are usually found at Ichetucknee park and compared my photo to the ones i found on google as well.

There are multiple species present in this photo. I believe the one farthest from and the one closest to the camera are Florida cooters. I will post this image multiple times and identify each species separately.

Description: Wild Tortoise discovered in the waters of a conservation park located in Tampa, Florida. The spotted tortoise was approximately a foot long and was of a dark color. If looked at very closely, slight yellow strips might be seen along the surface of its body.
Defining Characteristics: This species is indicative of the family of Emydidae.
Geographic Distribution: This species is generally found in freshwaters of the Florida peninsula.

Full Distribution: Animal Diversity Web: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Pseudemys_peninsularis/
References: All Turtles: https://www.allturtles.com/peninsula-cooter/