Chelydra serpentina

I found this baby snapping turtle on April 30th while on a lab trip to hueston woods quarry in Oxford,Ohio. This little guy was hiding out under a rock, he had wallowed out a little place for himself in the mud. This species was easily identified with its reduced plastron and long tail. This guy was very young is carapace was still soft because it had not yet fully ossified. You you will probably never see this guy basking but it is common for them to hide submerged in mud then ambush invertebrates fish birds or anything that might come by. also it might surprise to know it also eats lots of vegetation.

-Justin Taylor- Miami University Oxford Ohio