Alligator Snapping Turtle Sample Clauses

Alligator Snapping Turtle. ‌ The Alligator Snapping Turtle is striking in appearance, with a characteristic spiked shell and large, broad head. Adult males can reach 175 pounds or more with females weighing around 50 pounds. Although hatchling survival is low, the lifespan of adults can be over 100 years. They can be found on land but mainly inhabit aquatic environments, preferring the calm deep waters of ponds, oxbows, lakes, and large rivers. Upon reaching sexual maturity (approx. 15 years), females will emerge to lay their eggs along the shoreline or in upland areas up to 1 mile from water. This species is the only turtle that possesses a predatory worm-like mouth appendage, pink or drab in color, used to lure its prey. They are considered omnivores and will feed on small fish, insects, reptiles (including other turtles), and amphibians, (Xxxxxxxx, X.X and Xxxxxxxx, X. X., 2016). The current range of the Alligator Snapping Turtle extends across fourteen states in the southeastern U.S. including all the major river basins in East Texas. The Alligator Snapping Turtle likely occurs throughout the entire Trinity River Basin wherever suitable habitat is present. The Alligator Snapping Turtle is one of the heaviest freshwater turtles in the world and the largest in North America (Carwardine, 2008). Though the species is most often associated with the Common Snapping Turtle, it is not closely related to it, as it is a different genus. The Alligator Snapping Turtle has long been prized as a food source, which led to population declines and the creation of laws limiting its capture. Poaching (i.e., illegal harvest) is considered a major threat and remains a cause for concern, as seen in the recent news of

Alligator Snapping Turtle. The alligator snapping turtle may be found in large rivers, canals, lakes, oxbows, and swamps adjacent to large rivers. It is most common in freshwater lakes and bayous, but also found in coastal marshes and sometimes in brackish waters near river mouths. Typical habitat is mud bottomed waterbodies having some aquatic vegetation. The alligator snapping turtle is slow growing and long lived. Sexual maturity is reached at 11 to 13 year of age. Because of this and its low fecundity, loss of breeding females is thought to be the primary threat to the species.