Type of Shell: Hard shell that is serrated on the rear edge.

Common Snapping Turtles are found throughout Eastern, Central and Midwestern United States. They can live and breed in a variety of aquatic habitats, from woodland ponds to water treatment plants.

There are four subspecies, two of them, the Common and Florida, are found in the U.S. Some studies show that they are omnivorous, while others show them to be primary carnivores. They are know to eat fish, amphibians, reptiles, aquatic invertebrates and carrion.

Hatching snapping turtles are about an inch in length. Baby snapping turtles are usually non-aggressive, but adults can be down right mean. Their powerful jaws can do serious damage to flesh.

Both the Alligator Snapping Turtle and the Common Snapping turtle possess a long snake-like tail. Adults generally are aroud 14 inches or so and weighing around 25 pounds. The largest wild specimen ever caught was a 68 pound turtle from Nebraska (Pritchard 2006).

Like other turtle generalists such as Red-eared Sliders and Spiny Softshells, Common Snapping Turtles do well in human modified habitats and have increased their population in many areas. Common Snapping turtles are the most important turtle species in the U.S. commercial turtle meat trade (Moll & Moll 2004).

For more information about this wonderful turtle species, please read Biology of the Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina).

References