Geographic range: Neotropical: Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima is comprised of four subspecies which collectively range from Sonora, Mexico to Costa Rica. They are the only turtles of the subfamily Batagurinae to occur in the New World .

Physical characteristics: Attractive species with thin red lines on the face and extensive areas of red and black vermiculations on the limbs, thighs, and tail as well as on the ventral parts of the marginal scutes and near the midline of the plastron. It has a small head with finely serrated jaw edges. The carapace is light brown with a ridge down the middle and moderate sculpturing on the scutes. It is posteriorly serrated, usually widest and highest just behind the middle. Pleurals are ranging from solid brown to patterned ones with a single, dark -bordered yellow or red spot to bright yellow or red lines or ocelli. Vertebrals may be unicolored, dark flecked, or with yellow or red radiations.
The well developed plastron is yellowish with red markings visible on the marginals. It is notched posteriorly, narrow to wide dark central blotch is present. The shell is somewhat elongated. Males reach a carapace length of 18 cm and have a concave plastron and a longer thicker tail, with the vent beyond the carapacial margin. Females are larger with a flat plastron that is slightly upturned anteriorly, and a shorter tail with the vent beneath the carapace edge. The carapace is flatter and broader in the northern parts of the range, and domed and narrower southward. One subspecies, Rhinoclemmys p. rogerbarbouri has an interesting carapace that is somewhat wedge-shaped dorsally and with straight, posteriorly diverging sides, and upturned marginal edges in some specimens. This forms a "gutter" that may serve to direct rain water towards the mouth, as has been observed with some species of tortoises.
The brown to greenish head bears a series of bright orange to red stripes: (1) a median stripe running forward between the orbits to the dorsal tip of the snout where it meets two other stripes, one from each orbit, to form a prefrontal arrow. (2) a stripe running posteriorly from bellow the nostrils along the upper jaw to the tympanum; (3) a stripe running from each nostril to corresponding orbit; and several stripes running from the orbit to the tympanum. Jaws and chin are yellow, stripes may be present on the lower jaw. The body skin is yellow or reddish, forelimbs are covered with large scales that can be yellow or red. The toes are only slightly webbed.

Food habits: Omnivorous, but a reference to plant food was observed. It feeds on wildflowers, grasses, fruit (guavas, mangos, oranges), insects, worms, and fish. Even though they may spend some of their time soaking in ponds or other bodies of water, they normally eat on land.

Reproduction: Male head bobbing is a usual form of courtship as is smelling and trailing of a female. Later the male and the female engage in nose to nose contact and biting. Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima lays several clutches of three to five eggs from May to December. Eggs may be buried in soil or leaf litter. The eggs are elongated and brittle-shelled. The eggs measure 24-32 mm x 37-52 mm. Hatchlings measure from 35 to 50 mm in carapace length. This species has temperature-dependent sex determination. Within the temperature range suitable for incubation, eggs incubated at cooler temperatures produce mostly males, while warmer eggs produce females. At 24C to 27C all males will form. When eggs are incubated at 30C only 25% of hatchlings will be males, and above 30C only females hatch out.

Behavior: These turtles are primarily terrestrial and can be found many kilometers away from water. They are also able to withstand drought conditions and temperatures up to 44° Celsius, but are most active after rains. When away from water bodies, usually seek shelter in moist vegetation.

Habitat: Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima is a terrestrial lowland species, primarily an inhabitant of scrub lands and moist woodlands, but also occurs in gallery forest close to streams. The red terrapin seems, at least in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, to prefer moist situations, and has been observed wading and swimming in streams and rain pools, especially during the dry season.

Biomes: tropical scrub forest