Natural History: Sternotherus odoratus

On our recent field trip, we found this little guy in the trap that Dr. Welch set up in a previous trip to Donnelly wildlife management area. We identified it as a common musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus)due to the fact of the fact that it possessed a squarish pectoral scute rather than a triangular pectoral scute found in the genus Kinosternon, both which are in the Family Kinosternidae. The musk turtles have a relatively small plastron that offers little protection for their legs, as seen in the picture above. Their habitat includes any kind of permenant body of water, like shallow streams, ponds, rivers, or clear water lakes. This turtle can often be found basking in the sun on a nearby fallen branch. The common musk turtle are relatively small turtles ranging form 2 to 5 inches in size fully grown. These turtles all possess barbles on their chin, a common characteristic for the Family Kinosternidae.

We actually found 2 common musk turtles while at Donnelly wildlife management area located in the ACE basin of SC