Natural History of the Alligator Snapping Turtle

So recently my classmates and I went on another herp field trip, but this time we went to a different location (T.O. Fuller State Park). The park is located within the southern limits of Memphis and according to the website it encompasses a total of 1,138 acres with a diversity of wildlife. Because of the abundance of local flora and fauna from the Mississippi flood plains, this area is an ideal place for individuals like us! In this blog I will be talking a little about the field trip and also about the natural history of the Alligator Snapping Turtle, a turtle that in theory could have been found in one of our traps.

            The day before the field trip, our instructors set up turtle traps (the ones that go under water). The traps were filled with a lot of awful smelling stuff that would attract turtles. Unfortunately for us it was freezing once again. So when we got to the site to see what we had caught, it wasn’t a big surprise that there was nothing thereL. We gathered the traps up walked a couple meters looking through the swampy area but it was just too cold for any reptiles or amphibians to be out and about. The only thing we found was a skull, possibly from a deer.

            Since we didn’t actually get to see a turtle, I thought I would do my blog on the Alligator Snapping Turtle, Macrochelys temminckii. This reptile is found primarily in rivers, lakes, and canals in southeastern United States. They can live up to 100 years old which is pretty amazing, but their typical life span is 20-70 years. Males can weigh as much as 220, but are normally 175 pounds. Females on the other hand usually don’t weigh any more than 50 pounds! These turtles spend the majority of their lives in water except when nesting. They come to the surface for air approximately every hour. What’s really neat about this animal are its unique hunting tactics. Their tongues have a piece of bright-red flesh at the tip, which bear a striking resemblance to a worm. This is advantageous in that all the turtle has to do is sit motionless and display its tongue to catch prey. These turtles have no natural predators; however they are a threatened species because of humans that capture them for their meat and shells.

 Sources:
 

http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/TOFuller/

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/alligator-snapping-turtle/

Photo Courtesy:

http://phs.parkhill.k12.mo.us/practice/Zoo5/Jenny/alligato.jpg