Photo courtesy of Essex County

By Michael Sol Warren | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

New Jersey already has a state bug (the honeybee) and a state animal (the horse.) The creatures are just two of 13 official symbols for the state. But for years, New Jersey has lacked a reptilian emissary to the greater world.

Now, with a stroke of Gov. Phil Murphy's pen, New Jersey has an official state reptile.

Meet the bog turtle, the adorable new addition to New Jersey's collection of mascots.

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Photo courtesy of New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife

Meet the bog turtle

The bog turtle is both small and colorful. Typically only about four inches long, this is one of the smallest turtles found in North America according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Bog turtles are identified by the iconic orange, yellow or red spots on each side of their head.

Most importantly, the bog turtle has been federally listed as threatened since 1997 and has been listed as endangered in New Jersey since 1974.

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Patti Sapone | For The Star-Ledger

How many are there?

Exact numbers for the current bog turtle population are unknown, but it is estimated that between 2,500 and 10,000 of the turtles are currently alive according to the Endangered Species Coalition.

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At home on the East Coast

Bog turtles are split into two distinct populations, according to the Endangered Species Coalition. The northern turtles are found in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. The southern population is found in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

In New Jersey, the largest population of bog turtles lives in the northwestern part of the state though the turtles are also found in Central Jersey and South Jersey.

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Photo courtesy of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

A life of laying low

Bog turtles can live for more than 30 years, according to the New York Department of Conservation, and that life is one of secrecy.

The turtles stay mostly hidden except to sunbathe, and tend to eat what they can get with a preference for bugs. They hibernate in the winter (from October to April) and lay two to four eggs at a time in the spring. The eggs hatch around mid-September.

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A victim of shrinking habitat

Habitat loss is a key reason why the bog turtle is endangered. The species is dependent on wetlands, and development continues to chip away at the amount of suitable habitat. The stresses of development are exacerbated by climate change and the spread of invasive plants.

Bog turtles are also a prized species for the pet trade despite being protected by the Endangered Species Act, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

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What is being done to help it now?

In New Jersey, most of the conservation work involving bog turtles is focused on preserving the habitat that remains. Brian Zarate, a biologist for the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, said that the most important thing the state can do is protect more bog turtle habitat and find ways to connect those protected areas.

"New Jersey has a ton of roads," Zarate said. "It's hard for turtles to move from one area to another safely."

New Jersey's plan is in line with the federal recovery plan for the species, which focuses on protecting existing habitat and "aggressively halting illegal collection and trade in this species."

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Honoring the bog turtle

The push to honor the bog turtle began in Princeton, where Riverside School science teacher Mark Eastburn began using captive box turtles in the school's courtyard to teach genetics in 2015. Bevan Jones, a librarian at Community Park School, began using turtles in her work with students, and a love of the reptiles began to grow. When the students learned that New Jersey lacked a state reptile, they decided that the situation should be rectified. The push to honor the bog turtle was born.

After intense lobbying from the students, the bill to make the bog turtle the official state reptile was introduced by state Senator Kip Bateman (R-Somerset) and Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker (D-Mercer.) The students kept up their effort, testifying before legislative committees and sending letters to state lawmakers. Murphy's signing of the bill is the culmination of that hard work.

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M. Kathleen Kelly | For The Star-Ledger

What other animals represent the Garden State?

The bog turtle now joins more than a dozen other official symbols of New Jersey, including:

State bug: Honeybee

State animal: Horse

State dinosaur: Hadrosaurus foulkii

State bird: Eastern Goldfinch

State fish: Brook Trout

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Whatever happened to the Eastern Milk Snake?

Zwicker's bill to honor the bog turtle wasn't the only push to get a state reptile for New Jersey. After a push from students at Hopewell High School, former Assemblywoman Elizabeth Muoio (now the state treasurer) introduced legislation last fall that would've made the Eastern Milk Snake the state's official reptile. But the snake never had a chance against the Bog Turtle; Muoio's bill never made it out of committee.

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Other states with official reptiles

New Jersey is the 27th state to adopt an official state reptile. Oklahoma was the first, when it honored the common collared lizard in 1969. Florida has been especially enthusiastic about the cold-blooded critters; the Sunshine State has three official reptiles. Here is a sample of the crowd that New Jersey's bog turtle is joining:

Alabama: Alabama red-bellied turtle

Georgia: Gopher tortoise

Maryland: Diamondback terrapin

Missouri: Three-toed box turtle

New York: Common snapping turtle

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Looking for more about New Jersey's endangered critters?

Meet them all: The endangered species of N.J.

Bringing back quail: This unique restoration project has been successful. Will the state expand it?

Protecting sturgeon habitat: N.J.'s most endangered fish just got a rescue line from feds

Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MSolDub. Find NJ.com on Facebook.