Painted turtles are the most widespread turtle in North America, with one impressive feat to set themselves apart from all other reptiles (and most other animals, for that matter): as hibernating hatchlings, they can tolerate freezing over winter and thawing out in the spring. They can survive even when their bodies are 50% ice! In most life forms, ice formation typically causes cells to rupture, leading to death. Not so in painted turtle hatchlings! Adults survive winter by burying themselves in mud or underwater, and they are able to supercool their bodies (drop their temperature below freezing without the fluids in the body crystallizing into ice).