The snapping turtle is a species of turtle that has the characteristics of primitive turtles, but looks like a crocodile. Seeing this, are you curious about it? Hahaha, then, let the editor lead you to understand it together!

I. Basic information

Chinese name: Big snapping turtle 

Latin name: Macrochelys temminckii

Alternative name: True crocodile Turtles, crocodile biting turtles, snapping turtles, snapping turtles

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordate

Subphylum: Vertebrate Subphylum

Class: Reptiles

Subclass: Turtles

Order: Turtles

Family: Snapping Turtles

Genus: true snapping turtle

II. Morphological characteristics

The size of the snapping turtle is larger, and the length of the carapace is about About 31 inches, weighing about 200 pounds, the length of the tail is about 0.8 times the length of the carapace.

The head of the snapping turtle is triangular, and the upper and lower jaws at the front of the mouth are hook-shaped, like an eagle's beak, which is relatively sharp.

There are 13 scutellum (brown in color) on the carapace of the snapping turtle. These 13 scutellum undulates like 13 hills and are arranged in 3 vertical and horizontal rows. Many resemble serrated protrusions.

The eyes of the snapping turtle (small and powerful) are on both sides of the mouth, there are many fleshy protrusions on the head and neck, its plastron is small and cross shaped, and its limbs are thicker , with webs between the toes. Unlike other turtles, its head and feet cannot be retracted into the shell.

III. Distribution range

The snapping turtle is mainly distributed in Kansas, Illinois, southern Mississippi Valley, Iowa, northern Florida to eastern Texas and Georgia Southeast coastal plain. It is understood that in 1998, there were also a small amount of imported products in our country.

4. Living habits

The snapping turtle usually lives in lakes, ponds, swamps and rivers, and they rarely go on land, only in During the breeding season, female snapping turtles crawl ashore and look for suitable places to lay their eggs.

The snapping turtle likes low light, fears strong light, likes quietness, does not like to be disturbed, likes warmth and fears cold, and likes to gather. They like to float on the water, sometimes with their legs up, their carapaces down, and their heads out of the water.

V. Diet

The diet of snapping turtles is relatively mixed, they will eat insects, shrimps, water birds, snakes, frogs, fish and various All kinds of aquatic plants for food.

6. Breeding method

The breeding method of snapping turtle is oviparous. The mating time is around February to May every year, and the spawning period is April to July.

When the snapping turtle lays eggs, it will choose a location 50 meters away from the water. It can lay 30-120 eggs (spherical and white) each time, the diameter of each egg is about 30-51 mm, and the incubation period is about 10-140 days.

The newly hatched hatchlings are about 4.3 cm in length. Young tortoises grow rapidly, reaching 2 kg in one year and reaching sexual maturity after 3 years.

Seven. Status of the race

Due to the over-capture and trafficking of humans, the snapping turtle is now endangered and ranks among the rarest creatures in the world (endangered species) , ranked sixth, and it was also included in the World Conservation Union's Red List of Threatened Species, which is a vulnerable level.

All right! The above is all the information about snapping turtles~ Friends who like snapping turtles can bookmark this article~