Snapping Turtle |
|
|
Description
|
8-18 1/2" The familiar "snapper," with massive head and powerful jaws. Carpace tan to dark brown, often masked with algae or mud, bearing 3 rows of weak to prominent keels, and serrated toward the back. Plastron yellow to tan, unpatterned, relatively small, and cross-shaped in outline, Tail as long as carapace; with saw -toothed keels. Tubercles on neck. Wild specimens range to 45 lbs. Some fattened captives exceed 75 lbs. |
| Breeding | Mates April to November; peak laying season is june. Lays as many as 83 (typically 25-50) spherical 1 1/8" eggs in 4-7"deep, flask-shaped cavity. Each egg is directed into place by alternating movements of hind feet. Incubation,depending on weather, takes 9-18 weeks. In temperate localities, hatchlings overwinter in nest, Females may retain sperm for several years. Females often travel to a nesting site some distance from water. |
| Habitat | Freshwater. Likes soft mud bottoms and abundant vegetation. Also enters brackish waters |
|
Subspecies
|
Aligator Snapping Turtle
|