Description: The snapping turtle normally has a shell length ranging from 8 -18 1/2"and has a tail nearly as long as the shell. The tail has saw-toothed keels on it. The shell ranges in color from dark brown to tan and can even be black in some individuals. Snapping turtles have characteristic tubercles on their necks and legs. Plastrons of snapping turtles are very small and leave much of the extremities exposed. Snapping turtle necks, legs, and tails have a yellowish color and the head is dark in color.
Habitat: Snapping turtles occupy all types of freshwater habitats (streams, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, marshes, swamps), especially those with soft mud bottoms and abundant aquatic vegetation or submerged brush and logs. They occur in brackish water in some areas. Usually they are on the bottom but sometimes bask out of water, especially younger individuals and in far north. Hibernation occurs singly or in groups in streams, lakes, ponds, or marshes; in bottom mud, in or under submerged logs or debris, under overhanging bank, or in muskrat tunnel; often in shallow water; sometimes in anoxic sites. Nesting occurs in soft soil in open areas, often hundreds of meters from water, sometimes in muskrat houses.
Range: The snapping turtle's range stretches from S. Alberta and east to Nova Scotia in the north, extending south all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and into central Texas.
Diet: Snapping turtles will eat nearly anything that they can get their jaws around. They feed on carrion, invertebrates, fish, birds, small mammals, amphibians, and a surprisingly large amount of aquatic vegetation. Snapping turtles kill other turtles by decapitation. This behavior might be territoriality towards other turtles or a very inefficient feeding behavior.
Reproduction: Mating may occur any time during the warmer months. Snapping turtles in North America typically nest from late May to early July (mainly in June), but mainly from mid-June to early July in the far north. In dry regions, ground-softening rains often stimulate nesting. Clutch size averages 20-35, sometimes exceeds 100; 1 clutch/year in Michigan. Hatching and emergence from the nest typically occur about 2-3.5 months after laying, from late August to early October (most often in September), but sometimes the young do not emerge from the nest before winter.
Snapping turtles commonly experience low reproductive success due to extensive predation on their eggs, but females produce large clutches and may live and reproduce for several decades, so eventually they produce offspring that join the breeding population.
Females are sexually mature in about 8 years in Iowa, 10-20 years in Ontario (later in north than in south), 11-16 years in southeastern Michigan; also in Ontario, mean age of first nesting estimated at 17-19 years. In Ontario, the mean age of nesting females was estimated at 33-40 years.
Status: The species is currently classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, but has declined sufficiently due to pressure from collection for the pet trade and habitat degradation that Canada and several U.S. states have enacted or are proposing stricter conservation measures. In Canada, it is listed as "Special Concern" in the Species at Risk Act in 2011 and is a target species for projects that include surveys, identification of major habitats, investigation and mitigation of threats, and education of the public including landowners. Involved bodies include governmental departments, universities, museums, and citizen science projects.
Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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