Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macroclemys temminckii)

pic: from www.freewebs.com

Classification
Class: Reptilia
Order: Chelonia
Family: Chelydridae
Genus: Macroclemys
Species: temminckii
Distribution
This species occupies all river systems that drain into the Gulf of Mexico including the Mississippi up to
Kansas, Iowa and Illinois. They are also found from northern Florida to southern Georgia along the Gulf
coast states to eastern Texas.
Habitat
Alligator snapping turtles live in deep waters of large muddy rivers and associated major tributaries as well
as lakes, canals, swamps, ponds and bayous.
Physical Description
• The overall length of the alligator snapping turtle is up to five feet (1.52 m).
• The carapace or shell is up to 26 inches (66 cm) and has three lengthwise ridges.
• They weigh up to 250 pounds (114 kg).
• They are brown, gray or greenish in color and the shell is covered with algae.
• They have a huge head with powerful jaws and a hooked beak.
• The tail is as long as the shell.
• Unique among snapping turtles by having eyes on the side of their heads.
Diet
What Does It Eat?
In the wild: These carnivorous turtles eat mostly fish, mollusks and other turtles but also consume
some fruit and plant material that falls in the water.
At the zoo: Fish and rats
What Eats It? Turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten by large fish, raccoons and birds. Adult turtles are used
as a food source by humans.
Social Organization
Alligator snapping turtles are solitary except during mating.
Life Cycle
Mating occurs in the spring and about two months later the female builds a nest in sand or silt typically 50
yards (45 m) from the waters edge. She deposits a clutch of 10-50 leathery eggs in the nest. The female
then returns to the water and the eggs are left to incubate. The sex of the hatchlings is determined by the
temperature in the nest. In warmer areas of the nest females are produced; in cooler areas males are
produced. The eggs hatch after 100-140 days; hatchlings are fully developed and totally independent from
birth and must make their way to the water on their own. Both male and female alligator snapping turtles
are sexually mature at 11-13 years of age. In the wild, alligator snapping turtles can live up to 45 years
although 23 years is average. The oldest captive alligator snapping turtle lived 70 years.
Adaptations
Here Fishy, Fishy!
Alligator snapping turtles have a soft, red, worm-shaped structure on the tongue that they use as a
fishing lure. Sitting quietly on the muddy river bottom, concealed by their algae covered shell, they
open their mouth and wait for prey to swim by. When a curious fish or other unwary prey tries to
eat the decoy “worm”, the turtle’s massive jaws close on the prey.
Sensing Prey
These turtles use chemosensory cues to locate prey. Water drawn in and out of the mouth provides
chemical clues given off by potential prey nearby. Using this sensory system, alligator snapping
turtles are able to locate prey like mud turtles that have buried themselves in the mud at the
bottom of the river.
Water Lovers
Alligator snapping turtles are unlikely to travel from water onto land. Generally only females venture
onto land to lay their eggs. These turtles can stay submerged for 40-50 minutes before they emerge
from the water for air. This species can remain so still underwater that algae will cover their backs
making them almost invisible to fish.
Conservation Connection
IUCN Status – Vulnerable.
Alligator snapping turtles are vulnerable due to loss of habitat, pollution and pesticides as well as fishing and
trapping these animals for a food source. Much of their natural habitat has been drained and replaced by
crops. Pollution and pesticides are a continual threat to their aquatic habitat and damming and rerouting of
rivers and other waterways are altering their breeding grounds.
Fun Facts
• Alligator snapping turtles are the largest freshwater turtles in the world.
• They are more aquatic than other snapping turtles leaving the water only to nest.
• They are the only reptile in the world known to have a predatory lure in the mouth.
• These turtles are so sedentary sitting on river bottoms that algae grows on their rough, irregular
shells providing excellent camouflage in the murky water.
from : www.denverzoo.org