Yellow-Bellied Slider

I have very little experience with turtles and I have found trying to identify them challenging. I have learned that identification of turtles is often difficult and subjective as coloration varies significantly, not all of the species have the traditional markings and there is a lot of hybridization. Earlier this month we visited Cypress Gardens in Moncks Corner, South Carolina (just outside of Charleston). We were able to take a row boat out into a cypress swamp 

and found a veritable turtle sanctuary, more turtles than I've ever seen anywhere. As I have tried to determine the species of turtle we saw, I've relied significantly on the exhibits in the Cypress Gardens Swamparium which apparently represents the four types of turtles (most commonly) found there. I believe that all of the turtles we saw, or at least the vast majority, were yellow-bellied sliders, 

a subspecies of the pond slider, native to the southeastern United States, from Florida to southeastern Virginia. The yellow-bellied slider usually has a large yellow blotch behind the eye 

(often in an "s" shape) 

Yellow "s" strip behind the eye and striped yellow "pants" on a yellow bellied slider

and vertical stripes on the rump, also called pants. The rump stripes differentiate it from the peninsular cooter. The chicken turtle also has rump stripes, but the chicken turtle has a single broad stripe on its forelimbs while the yellow-bellied slider has thin lines. 

Thin yellow lines on forelegs of yellow bellied slider

The carapice (upper shell) is brown or black and often has yellow stripes. 

Yellow stripes on carapice of yellow bellied slider, although as I look more closely, this may be a red eared slider.

It has olive green skin with yellow down the neck and legs. The plastron (belly shell) is mostly yellow (thus the name) with black or green spots along the outside edges of the plastron or underside of the marginals at the edges of the carapice.  

Spots on underside of marginals of carapice on yellow bellied slider

I love this yellow bellied slider resting on a log with all of its legs stretched out in the air. 

This turtle seemed indifferent to us as we came very close to it with our rowboat.