The Star Nosed Mole
The star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) is a little North American mole found in wet low areas of eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States, with records extending along the Atlantic coast as far as extreme southeastern Georgia. It is the only member of the tribe Condylurini and the genus Condylura.
Star-nosed moles are easily identified by the eleven pairs of pink fleshy appendages ringing their snout which are used as a touch organ with more than 25,000 minute sensory receptors, known as Eimer’s organs, with which this hamster-sized mole feels its way around.
Appearance and Behavior
The star-nosed mole lives in wet lowland areas and eats small invertebrates, aquatic insects, worms and mollusks. It is a good swimmer and can forage along the bottoms of streams and ponds. Like other moles, this animal digs shallow surface tunnels for foraging; often, these tunnels exit underwater. It is active day and night and remains active in winter, when it has been observed tunnelling through the snow and swimming in ice-covered streams. Little is known about the social behavior of the species, but it is suspected that it is colonial.
Star-nosed molesThe star-nosed mole is covered in thick blackish brown water-repellent fur and has large scaled feet and a long thick tail, which appears to function as a fat storage reserve for the spring breeding season. Adults are 15 to 20 cm in length, weigh about 55 g, and have 44 teeth. The mole's most distinctive feature is a circle of 22 mobile, pink, fleshy tentacles at the end of the snout, from which they derive their name. These are used to identify food by touch, such as worms, insects and crustaceans.
The star-nosed mole mates in late winter or early spring, and the female has one litter of typically 4 or 5 young in late spring or early summer. However, females are known to have a second litter if their first is unsuccessful. At birth, each offspring is about 5 cm long, hairless, and weighs about 1.5g. Their eyes, ears, and star are all sealed, only opening and becoming useful approximately 14 days after birth. They become independent after about 30 days, and are fully mature after 10 months. Predators include the Red-tailed Hawk, Great Horned Owl, various skunks and mustelids, and even large fish.
Nose
The incredibly sensitive nasal tentacles are covered with minute touch receptors known as Eimer's organs. The nose is approximately one centimeter in diameter with approximately 25,000 Eimer's organs distributed on 22 appendages. Eimer's organs were first described in the European mole in 1871 by German zoologist Theodor Eimer. Other mole species also possess Eimer's organs, though they are not as specialized or numerous as in the star-nosed mole. Because the star-nosed mole is functionally blind, it had long been suspected that the snout was used to detect electrical activity in prey animals,though there is little, if any, empirical support for this contention. It appears the nasal star and dentition of this species are primarily adapted to exploit extremely small prey items. A report in the journal Nature gives this animal the title of fastest-eating mammal, taking as short as 120 milliseconds (average: 227 milliseconds) to identify and consume individual food items. Its brain decides in the ultra short time of 8 ms if a prey is comestible or not. This speed is at the limit of the speed of neurons. They also possess the ability to smell underwater. It is done by exhaling air bubbles onto objects or scent trails and then inhaling the bubbles to carry scents back through the nose.
In popular culture
* In the movie G-Force, one of the animals starring was a Star Nosed Mole called Speckles.
* In the movie The City of Ember, there is a Star Nosed Mole that has mutated to great size.
* In Suzanne Collins's The Underland Chronicles, a race of giant star-nosed moles called "diggers" attacks the human city of Regalia.
* In the Phineas and Ferb episode "At the Car Wash", Isabella and the fireside girls are raising money to save a Star-nosed Mole
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The Cantor's giant soft-shelled turtle
The Cantor's giant soft-shelled turtle (Pelochelys cantorii) is a species of fresh water turtle. The turtle has a broad head and small eyes close to the tip of its snout. The carapace is smooth and olive colored. Juveniles may have dark-spotted carapaces and heads, with yellow around the carapace.
Cantor's giant soft-shelled turtles can grow up to 6 feet (about 2 meters) in length. P. cantorii is an ambush predator and primarily carnivorous, feeding on crustaceans, mollusks and fish (although some aquatic plants may also be eaten). The turtle spends 95 percent of its life buried and motionless, with only its eyes and mouth protruding from the sand. It surfaces only twice a day to take a breath, and lays 20-28 eggs (about 1.2 to 1.4 inches [3.0-3.5cm] in diameter) in February or March on riverbanks.
Distribution
The turtle is found primarily in inland, slow-moving fresh water rivers and streams. There is some evidence that its range extends to coastal areas as well.
The turtle was once distributed across India, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Sumatra, Borneo, and western Java.
The turtle is regarded as endangered, and has disappeared from much of its range. Until recently, it was last seen in Cambodia in 2003. A 2007 survey of one area of the Mekong River in Cambodia found the turtle in abundance along a short 30-mile (48 kilometer) stretch of the river.
Taxonomy
Cantor's giant soft-shelled turtle is not to be confused with the Asian giant soft-shelled turtle (Pelochelys bibroni) or other giant soft-shelled turtles. P. cantorii is relatively unstudied, and it is possible that the current species may actually be composed of several taxa. One recent scholarly study showed that what was once thought to be P. cantorii in New Guinea was actually Pelochelys bibroni, and that earlier studies of P. cantorii only described
populations further to the west.
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The Mata mata
The mata mata (binomial name Chelus fimbriatus) is a freshwater turtle found in South America, primarily in the Amazon and Orinoco basins.Translated from Spanish, matamata means "I kill, I kill".
Taxonomy
The mata mata was described for the first time by French naturalist Pierre Barrère in 1741 as a "large land turtle with spiky and ridged scales".It was first classified as Chelus fimbriatus by German naturalist Johann Gottlob Schneider in 1783. It was renamed 14 different times in 2 centuries, finally being renamed Chelus fimbriatus in 1934 by Robert Mertens and Muller.
Anatomy and morphology
The mata mata is a large sedentary turtle which has a large triangular flattened head characterized with many tubercles and flaps of skin and a "horn" on its long and tubular snout.[1] There are two barbels on the chin and two additional filamentous barbels at the upper jaw, which is neither hooked nor notched.
The mata mata's brown or black oblong carapace can measure up to 45 cm (18 in) at adult age. The full adult weight is 15 kg (33 lb). The mata mata's plastron is reduced, narrowed, hingeless, shortened towards the front, and deeply notched at the rear with narrow bridges. The plastron and bridges are cream to yellow or brown.
The head, neck, tail, and limbs are grayish brown on adults. The neck is longer than the vertebra under its carapace and is fringed with small skin flaps along both sides. Hatchlings show a pink to reddish tinge in the underside edge of their carapace and plastron which gradually disappear as they grow.
Each forefoot has five webbed claws. Males have concave plastrons and longer, thicker tails than females
Habitat
The mata mata inhabits slow moving, blackwater streams, stagnant pools, marshes, and swamps ranging into northern Bolivia, eastern Peru, Ecuador, eastern Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, and northern and central Brazil. The mata mata is strictly an aquatic species but it prefers standing in shallow water where its snout can reach the surface to breathe.
Behavior
The appearance of the mata mata's shell resembles a piece of bark, and its head resembles fallen leaves.As it remains motionless in the water, its skin flaps enable it to blend into the surrounding vegetation until a fish comes close The mata mata thrusts out its head and opens its large mouth as wide as possible, creating a low-pressure vacuum that sucks the prey into its mouth. The Matamata snaps its mouth shut, the water is slowly expelled, and the fish is swallowed whole; the mata mata cannot chew due to the way its mouth is constructed.
Reproduction
Males display for females by extending their limbs, lunging the head toward the female with mouth agape, and moving the lateral flaps on the head. Nesting occurs from October through December in the Upper Amazon. The 12 to 28 brittle, spherical, 35 mm diameter eggs are deposited in a clutch.Incubation is 208 days. They are sexually mature at 5 years.
Diet
The mata mata is carnivorous, feeding exclusively upon aquatic invertebrates and fish.
In Captivity
Mata mata turtles are readily available in the exotic pet trade and are quite expensive to obtain. Due to their unique appearance, they make interesting display animals. They also grow quite large. However, mata matas are not active hunters, so like the alligator snapping turtle, they need less space than a large, active species.
As with all aquatic turtles, water quality is one of the keys to keeping this species successfully in captivity. Warm, acidic water is the best type used with a high tannin content that should be maintained all year round. Moderate to heavy filtration is recommended
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The Rafetus swinhoe Aka Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle
The Rafetus swinhoei, commonly known as the Shanghai soft-shell turtle, Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle (Chinese: 斑鱉; Pinyin:Bān Bīe), or Swinhoe's soft-shell turtle, is a species of soft-shell turtle. It may be the largest fresh water turtle in the world. It is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List 2006, and is one of the rarest turtles in the world. There are only two known to survive in China: an 80-year-old female in Changsha Zoo and a 100-year-old male in Suzhou Zoo. In Vietnam, two examples of this species also exist. One lives in Hoan Kiem Lake in the center of Hanoi, and the other lives in Dong Mo Lake near Hanoi. In 2007, scientists conducting surveys west of Hanoi discovered the world's only living example of Rafetus swinhoei in the wild.
Distribution
Rafetus swinhoei have been known to inhabit the Yangtze River and Lake Taihu, situated on the border of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, in eastern China; Gejiu, Yuanyang, Jianshui and Honghe in Yunnan province in southern China; and the Red River in the north of Vietnam. In recent years a single specimen of Rafetus swinhoei was caught by fishermen in Hoa Binh Province on the Song Da tributary of the Red River.The last known specimen caught in the wild in China was in 1998 in the Red River between Yuanyang and Jianshui ; that turtle was then released. A turtle in Hoan Kiem Lake in the center of Hanoi, Vietnam, has been sighted and caught on film in recent years.
Some local scientists claim that the specimen in Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam, is a separate species named Rafetus leloii, or Hoan Kiem Turtle.
There are only two known living specimens in China, one each at Suzhou and Changsha Zoos. A third living specimen is at Hoan Kiem Lake; A specimen at the Beijing Zoo died in 2005, and another one at the Shanghai Zoo died in 2006, both of them were caught at Gejiu in the 1970s. Another was recently discovered in a north Vietnam lake, according to scientists. This specimen is said to still be in the lake.
Coordinated by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Turtle Survival Alliance, the still reproductive, more than 80-year-old female living in the Changsha Zoo was introduced to the only known male in China, a more than 100-year-old individual living more than 600 miles away at the Suzhou Zoo, on May 5, 2008. The female has arrived safely and settled in well into her new habitat at the Suzhou Zoo, and biologists were optimistic for breeding success.
Description
Rafetus swinhoei are noted for their deep head with pig-like snout and eyes dorsally placed. They measure over 100 cm in length and 70 cm in width and weigh approximately of 120-140 kg. Their carapace, or shell can grow larger than 50 cm in length and width. Their heads can measure over 20 cm in length and 10 cm in width. Males are generally smaller than females and have longer, larger tails.
Reproduction
Individuals lay from 60 to more than 100 eggs. They nest at night and during the morning.
Diet
Includes fish, crabs, snails, water hyacinth, frogs, and leaves.
Key threats
Rafetus swinhoei is on the brink of extinction due to habitat loss, hunting for subsistence and local consumption, and the use of the carapace and bones in medicine. Skulls are often kept as trophies. A recent plan to build hydropower cascade of 12 dams on the Red River in China may flood all of its habitat and change the ecosystem of lower Viet Nam.
Conservation efforts
Conservation efforts are concentrated on breeding captive turtles in China and searching for live specimens in the wild. An agreement was made to transfer the only known remaining female specimen located at the Changsha Zoo to the Suzhou Zoo to breed with the male specimen there. Also efforts are being made to improve conditions for breeding at both the Suzhou Zoo and Western Temple in Suzhou. A workshop on the Rafetus Conservation at Yunnan was held by CI-Shanshui. Local Chinese scientists are searching for the last existent individuals. The two specimens were able to produce two clutches of eggs with over half of them being fertile, though unfortunately all of them perished before hatching. The Turtle Survival Alliance released a statement, saying "A number of the eggs had very thin shells, suggesting that the diet of the animals prior to breeding was not optimal." . The two turtle are now being prepared for another round of mating, while being fed a high calcium diet in an effort to strengthen the eggs. Liu Jinde, the director of the zoo said "We've worked very hard on this, We ought to succeed. The turtles are very healthy."
The scientists began preparing to mate the two once again in May 2009, which fell within this species' breeding season. But in the fall of 2009 the zoo announced that despite laying 188 eggs the eggs were infertile and would not hatch. The Turtle Survival Alliance issued a statement explaining that the infertility was due in part to the turtle's poor diet and the group expressed concern that the zoo's patrons had thrown trash into the turtle's enclosure that, if eaten, could endanger the health of the turtles.
The legend of Kim Qui
The specimen located in Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi is thought to be the legendary Kim Qui (Chinese: 金龜; pinyin: Jīn Guī), or Golden Turtle God, who has appeared at opportune moments throughout Vietnamese history. The golden turtle first appeared during the reign of King An Duong Vuong (257-207 BC) and assisted the king in the construction of defenses for the ancient capital of Co Loa. When Co Loa was attacked Kim Qui assisted the king in making a magical cross-bow that massively rained arrows upon the invaders in only a single shot. When the King’s daughter conspired against her father Kim Qui emerged again to inform An Duong Vuong of the betrayal; the king consequentially killed his daughter and drowned himself in the lake.
In the 15th century, a peasant named Lê Lợi obtained a magical sword named Heaven's Will that a fisherman had pulled out of the lake. Lê Lợi used this sword to lead a rebellion against the Chinese armies that were in occupation of Vietnam. After overthrowing the Chinese rule and establishing Le Dynasty, the now emperor Lê Lợi returned to the lake and Kim Qui caught the sword in his teeth and submerged. Lê Lợi then named the lake 'Lake of Returning Sword', or Hoan Kiem.
In 1999, 2000, and 2005 turtles have reemerged from Hoan Kiem Lake on special occasions, when it was seen by a large audience and caught on film. It is believed that there is only a single turtle left in the lake.
Asian Giant Softshell Turtle
The Asian Giant Softshell Turtle (Pelochelys bibroni) is a species of softshell turtle in the Trionychidae family. It may be found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. It is the second largest species of freshwater turtle, surpassed in size only by Pelochelys cantorii.
Albino Soft Shelled Turtle
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The Common Snapping Turtle
The Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) is a large freshwater turtle of the family Chelydridae. Its natural range extends from southeastern Canada south, west to the Rocky Mountains (and beyond, where introduced), throughout Mexico, and as far south as Ecuador. This species and the larger Alligator Snapping Turtle are both widely referred to as snapping turtles or snappers (though the Common Snapping Turtle, as its name implies, is much more widespread overall). The Snapping Turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in the western United States.
Common snappers are noted for their belligerent disposition when out of the water, their powerful beak-like jaws and their highly mobile head and neck (hence the specific name "serpentina", meaning "snake-like"). In some areas they are hunted very heavily for their meat, a popular ingredient in turtle soup. These turtles have lived for up to 47 years in captivity, while the lifespan of wild individuals is estimated to be around 30 years.
Anatomy and morphology
Chelydra serpentina have rugged, muscular builds with ridged carapaces (though ridges tend to be more pronounced in younger individuals). The carapace (upper shell) length in adulthood may be nearly 50 cm (20 inches), though 25--47 cm, or 10--18.5 inches, is more common[3], with C. serpentina and its subspecies commonly weighing 4.5--16 kg (10--35 lb). Exceptionally large (often captive and overfed) individuals may reach 34 kg (75 lb).
Ecology and life history
Common habitats are shallow ponds, shallow lakes, or streams. Some may inhabit brackish environments, such as estuaries. Common Snapping Turtles sometimes bask—though rarely observed—by floating on the surface with only their carapace exposed, though in the northern parts of their range they will also readily bask on fallen logs in early spring. In shallow waters, Common snappers may lie beneath a muddy bottom with only the head exposed, stretching their long necks to the surface for an occasional breath (note that their nostrils are positioned on the very tip of the snout, effectively functioning as snorkels). Snapping turtles are omnivores, consuming both plant and animal matter, and are important aquatic scavengers; but they are also active hunters that prey on anything they can swallow, including many invertebrates, fish, frogs, reptiles (including snakes and smaller turtles), unwary birds and small mammals.
Snappers will travel extensively overland to reach new habitat or to lay eggs. Pollution, habitat destruction, food scarcity, overcrowding and other factors will drive snappers to move overland; it is quite common to find them traveling far from the nearest water source. This species mates from April through November, with their peak laying season in June and July. The female can hold sperm for several seasons, utilizing it as necessary. Females travel over land to find sandy soil in which to lay their eggs, often some distance from the water. After digging a hole, the female typically deposits 25 to 80 eggs each year, guiding them into the nest with her hind feet and covering them with sand for incubation and protection. Incubation time is temperature-dependent, ranging from 9 to 18 weeks. In cooler climates, hatchlings overwinter in the nest.
Systematics & taxonomy
Four subspecies of Common Snapping Turtle are typically recognized: C. s. serpentina is the form present across the majority of its range, occurring east of the Continental Divide into most of the southern United States, and parts of northern Mexico. C. s. osceola occurs only in Florida up to the Okefenokee area of southern Georgia. C. s. acutirostris and C. s. rossignonii are neotropical, C. s. rossignonii occurring in southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras while C s. acutirostris ranges from Nicaragua across the Central American isthmus down the South American Pacific coastal region. C. s. rossignonii is considered a distinct species, C. rossignonii, by some authors.
Importance to humans
In captivity
It is a common misconception that Common snapping turtles may be safely picked up by the tail with no harm to the animal; in fact, this has a high chance of injuring the turtle, especially the tail itself and the vertebral column. A handler must also be wary of injury; these turtles are aptly named, as they can snap with surprising speed, reach and power. If moving it is absolutely necessary, scooping and lifting the turtle just off the ground with a shovel (especially a snow shovel), if done quickly, may be safest and easiest for all concerned parties.
Lifting the turtle with the hands is difficult and dangerous. Snappers may stretch their necks halfway back across their own carapace to bite. Also, their claws are sharp and capable of inflicting significant injuries. Manual lifting (which should be done only if no other options are available) is best accomplished by grabbing the top of the shell behind the head with one hand and the other hand holding the shell between the rear legs. Then you can proceed to lift the turtle with the head facing away from you and all others. This way the turtle will not be able squirm and try to dislodge the handler's hands with its hind legs. Even a small snapper is relatively powerful for its size, with long sharp claws; further, due to their aquatic habits, these turtles are often slimy and wet, and are good at causing prospective handlers to lose their grip. In the case that a snapping turtle must be handled, it is best to keep the turtle on the ground or very close. Wild turtles may be covered with a smelly pond slime and may also defecate, urinate or musk on a handler.
In politics
The Common snapper, known commonly and in folklore as the "Ograbme", was the central feature of a famous American political cartoon. Published in 1808 in protest at the Jeffersonian Embargo Act of 1807, the cartoon depicted a snapping turtle, jaws locked fiercely to an American trader who was attempting to carry a barrel of goods onto a British ship. The trader was seen whimsically uttering the words "Oh! this cursed Ograbme" ("embargo" spelled backwards). This piece is widely considered a pioneering work within the genre of the modern political cartoon.
The year 2006 saw the snapping turtle declared the state reptile of New York by a sweeping vote of the New York Legislature after being popularly chosen by the state's public elementary school children.
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The Alligator Snapping Turtle
The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is one of the largest freshwater turtles in the world. It is a larger and less aggressive relative of the Common Snapping Turtle. The epithet temminckii is in honor of Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck.
Distribution and habitat
The largest freshwater turtle in North America, the alligator snapper keeps to primarily southern U.S. waters, while the smaller, more aggressive common snapper inhabits lakes and streams from South America to Canada. These turtles can remain submerged for three hours. Typically only nesting females will venture onto open land.
Surprisingly, due to the pet trade and other factors the species has found its way to Asia and Europe with a breeding/research center found in Japan.
Description
The Alligator Snapping Turtle is characterized by a large, heavy head, and a long, thick shell with three dorsal ridges of large scales (osteoderms) giving it a primitive appearance reminiscent of some of the plated dinosaurs. They can be immediately distinguished from the Common Snapping Turtle by the three distinct rows of spikes and raised plates on the carapace, whereas the Common Snapping Turtle has a smoother carapace . They are a solid gray, brown, black, or olive-green in color, and often covered with algae. They have radiating yellow patterns around the eyes, serving to break up the outline of the eye and keep the turtle camouflaged. Their eyes are also surrounded by a star-shaped arrangement of fleshy filamentous "eyelashes."
There is an unverified report of a 403-pound Alligator Snapping Turtle found in the Neosho River in Kansas in 1937, but the largest one actually on record is debatable. One weighed at the The Shedd aquarium in Chicago was a 16-year resident giant alligator snapper weighing 249 lbs. sent to the Tennessee State Aquarium as part of a breeding loan in 1999. Another was 236 lbs, and housed at the Brookfield Zoo in suburban Chicago. Both of these may still be alive. Further research is required. They generally do not grow quite that large. Average adult size is around 26 inches shell length with a weight of 175 lb. Males are typically larger than females. Alligator snapping turtles can also range in length from 16 to 32 inches (40.4 to 80.8 cm).
In mature specimens (carapace length over 12 inches) male and female can be differentiated by the position of the cloaca from the carapace and the thickness of the tail's base. A mature male's cloaca extends beyond the carapace edge, a female's is placed exactly on the edge if not nearer to the plastron. The base of the tail of the male is also thicker as compared to females because of the reproductive organs.
The inside of the turtle's mouth is camouflaged, and it possesses a vermiform (literally, "worm-shaped") appendage on the tip of its tongue used to lure fish, a form of Peckhamian mimicry. The turtle hunts by lying motionless in the water with its mouth wide open. The vermiform tongue imitates the movements of a worm, luring prey to the turtle's mouth. The mouth is then closed with tremendous speed and force, completing the ambush.
Contrary to claims that Alligator Snapping Turtles possess the second strongest bite force of any animal, it has been recorded at 158 +/- 176.51 N which is lower than several other species of turtle and at about the same level as humans Still, these turtles must be handled with extreme care.
Fossil history
Unlike the family Chelydridae as a whole, the genus Macroclemys is exclusively North American and is generally considered to contain three valid species: the extant M. temminckii and the extinct M. schmidti and M. auffenbergi (described from the early middle Miocene of Nebraska and the middle Pliocene of Florida, respectively).
Diet
Alligator snappers are opportunistic carnivores more often at a young age, but are also scavengers. In northern states such as Michigan young hatchlings will live off plants also, such as water lettuce and other floating grass, shrub, and flower-like organisms. They usually obtain this behavior when food is scarce or when it is early in the summer months. Fishermen have glorified the species' ability to catch fish and to deplete fish populations. Minnows are usually the main source of meat for the species at a young age. They will eat almost anything they can catch. Their natural diet consists primarily of fish and dead fish carcasses (usually thrown overboard by fishermen), invertebrates, carrion, and amphibians, but they are also known to eat snakes, and even other turtles. In captivity they may consume almost any kind of meat provided, including beef, chicken and pork although these are not always healthy on a day to day basis. Though not a primary food source for them, adult Alligator snappers have been known to kill and eat small alligators that have been confined with, such as in a net, small bog, or poorly-planned aquarium display.
Reproduction and lifespan
Maturity is reached at around 12 years of age. Mating takes place yearly; early spring in the southern part of their total range, and later spring in the north. The female builds a nest and lays a clutch of 10-50 eggs about 2 months later. The sex of the baby alligator snapping turtles depends on the temperature at which the eggs are incubated. Nests are typically excavated at least 50 yards from the water's edge to prevent them from being flooded and drowned. Incubation takes from 100 to 140 days, and hatchlings emerge in the early fall.
Though their potential lifespans in the wild are unknown, alligator snapping turtles are believed to be capable of living to 150 years of age. According to an episode of "Dirty Jobs" on the Discovery Channel, there are reports of living Alligator Snapping turtles with musket balls from the American Civil War lodged in them. In captivity, they typically live from anywhere between 20 to 70 years of age.
In captivity
Alligator snapping turtles are often captive-bred as pets and are readily available in the exotic animal trade. Due to their potential size and specific needs, they do not make particularly good pets for any but the most experienced aquatic turtle keepers.Due to sheer size, handling adult specimens can pose significant problems. The turtle can be handled with relative safety by holding them at the sides of the carapace. A large individual can be held by grasping the turtle firmly in the anterior, just behind the head, and posterior portions of the carapace.
Despite their reputation, they are typically not prone to biting, but when antagonized are quite capable of delivering a bite with their powerful jaws which can cause significant harm to a human, easily amputating fingers. Some states where alligator snapping turtles do not naturally occur (such as California) prohibit them from being kept as pets by residents.
Conservation status
The alligator snapping turtle is primarily vulnerable to humans from habitat loss and hunting. Some are hunted for their carapaces; the plastron of the turtle is valued because of its shape as a cross. There are accounts of large (50+ lb) turtles being caught both purposely and accidentally on recreational fishing lines called "trot lines." Abandoned trot lines are thought to be even more dangerous to turtles. Soup made from snapping turtle meat is considered by some to be a delicacy.
This turtle is protected from collection throughout much of its range. The IUCN lists it as a threatened species, and as of June 14, 2006 it was afforded some international protection by being listed as a CITES III species (which will put limits on exportation from the United States and all international trade in this species.).
The alligator snapping turtle is now endangered in several states, including Illinois.
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