📷 Gary M. Stolz/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Public domain
📷 Peter Paplanus from St. Louis, Missouri
📷 Tina Li
IUCN: Vulnerable
Alligator Snapping Turtle
Macrochelys temminckii
KingdomAnimalia›PhylumChordata›ClassReptilia›OrderTestudines›FamilyChelydridae›GenusMacrochelys
About
North America’s largest freshwater turtle is a living ambush: it lies motionless on a muddy bottom with jaws agape, wiggling a pink, worm-shaped piece of its tongue to lure curious fish inside. Its alligator-like shell bears three keeled ridges and can support the weight of a small adult — leading, sometimes, to turtle-back photos. Armed with a hooked beak that can snap through bone, the species is entirely aquatic, rarely leaving the water except for nesting females.
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Rivers, lakes, canals, and swamps with muddy bottoms in the southeastern United States
🍃Diet Fish, mollusks, crayfish, turtles, snakes, birds, and aquatic plants
📏Size & Weight Shell typically 35–66 cm long
•Weight 16–80 kg; rare giants up to about 100 kg
⏳Lifespan Estimated 50–100 years
🗺Range River systems draining into the Gulf of Mexico, USA
ReptileTurtle
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Rivers, lakes, canals, and swamps with muddy bottoms in the southeastern United States
🍃Diet Fish, mollusks, crayfish, turtles, snakes, birds, and aquatic plants
📏Size & Weight Shell typically 35–66 cm long
•Weight 16–80 kg; rare giants up to about 100 kg
⏳Lifespan Estimated 50–100 years
🗺Range River systems draining into the Gulf of Mexico, USA
Photo Credits
#1Gary M. Stolz/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Public domain
#2Peter Paplanus from St. Louis, Missouri · CC BY 2.0
#3Tina Li · CC BY-SA 4.0
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