Natural History: the Snapping Turtle

 Natural History: the Snapping Turtle

We encountered this turtle on a field trip to a place that is owned by CofC.  Its scientific name is Chelydra serpentina and its common name is the eastern (or common) snapping turtle. This turtle was found inside one of the traps that our professor and TA put out the day before our field trip. This turtle is a part of the family Chelydridae that ranges from southeastern Canada, southwest to the edge of the Rocky Mountains, and can go as far east as Florida. Their bite force is about 209 Newtons. Their habitat is almost any body of freshwater and some can even be in brackish water. They like water bodies with muddy bottoms or vegetation because they can conceal better. Some water bodies that they like are ponds, swamp, and streams. These species are aquatic and can be seen basking. These species are omnivore and they usually feed on fish, small mammals, amphibians, and aquatic vegetation. Their eggs and hatchlings can be eaten by other large turtles, herons, raccoons, foxes, and more animals. 

I believe that this turtle was maybe approximately 10 cm. It was a little hard to tell because I wasn’t able to measure it or be closer to it. I wasn’t able to determine if it was a male or female. But for the male, their tail is longer and thicker than the female. And also that the vent is located further down from the plastron than that of the females. The shell was a dark brown on the top and the head was a dark color. The tail had saw-toothed keels on it and its legs had tubercles. Snapping turtles are not social animals and they tend to be viscous when they are removed from their habitat (the water). It was seen with this turtle that when it was held by some of the students, it became sassy and wanted to bite someone. I really enjoyed going to this pond and getting to see this turtle.