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I used to have pet turtles that I had to sadly give up for adoption because they got too big for an apartment living.
TTAXONOMY
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Family: Chelydridae (Snapping Turtles)
Genus/species: Macrochelys temminckii
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS: Largest freshwater turtle in the worldweighing 70-80 kg (155-175 lb) with a shell length up to 79 cm (32 in). Their big head can be over 9 in wide with three ridge keels on the broad carapace rising to knobby keels. They usually have algae covering their backs since they spend most of their time under water coming to the surface sometimes as little as 50 min between breaths.
There is an unverified legend that a 183 kg (403 lb) alligator snapping turtle found in the Neosho River in Kansas in 1937. The largest individual on record is a 107 kg (236 lb) turtle in the Brookfield Zoo, Chicago.
The largest individual turtle in the exhibit is over 57 kgs (125) pounds. The smallest is 22 kg (49 pounds) 6-18-15, The rest are likely ~45 kg (100 pounds). California Academy of Sciences.
DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Southeastern United States in primarily quiet, muddy freshwater rivers, streams, lakes and ponds that drain into the Gulf of Mexico. Females leave water only to deposit eggs and male occasionally will bask in the sun.
DIET IN THE WILD: Lie-in-wait predator. Rests on substrate with its mouth open and lures fish to its mouth with a movable, pink wormlike tongue appendage. Also takes crayfish, crabs, snails, freshwater mussels, salamanders, snakes, very small alligators, small mammals, water birds, briar roots, wild grapes, acorns, and are scavenges as well.
ACADEMY DIET: They are fed cut trout 2-3 times per week.
REPRODUCTION: Males climb onto the female’s carapace from behind. As in all reptiles, fertilization is internal. Female’s terrestrial nest is approximately within 50m (160 ft). of water. A single clutch of 8-52 eggs (35 average) is laid per year with a 3.5 to 4.5 month incubation period. Warm and low incubation temperatures result in all female neonates. Intermediate incubation temperatures produce mostly males. They mature in 11-13 years and can live to 70 years of age in captivity.
Location: Swamp Main Exhibit
REMARKS: There are currently five female alligator snapping turtles in the Academy’s Swamp. The turtles were brought to the Academy on May 8, 1972 as a confiscation from the San Francisco Airport. They had arrived on a Delta Airlines flight from Georgia and were headed to Ginny’s Charbroiler restaurant on San Bruno Avenue in San Francisco. Tom Tucker, an Aquarium biologist
was the Academy representative. The California Fish & Game Commission adopted regulations restricting snapping turtle importation into California on April 7, 1972, just a month before, thus the turtles were confiscated and sent to the Academy.
1-2-13, 6-18-15
at least I think so. found it on a trail in the Musquash, carried it to a safer spot, took some photos and let it go in a vernal pool. the resident bullfrog was put out. This one was much braver than the Blanding's turtle despite being half its size.
Fred wanted to go underneath the fence, but couldn't, so husband pulled the fence up,so he could go where he needed to go.....see ya buddy!
Growing up in Florida, we always called these 'Streaked Head Turtles". Photo taken in the canal behind my house (Lake Pierce) Polk County, Florida.
A pair of green sea turtles / honu (Chelonia mydas) nuzzle up to each other while sunbathing in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.
For more information, visit www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/
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Contact us by email: hawaiireef@noaa.gov
Photo by: Mark Sullivan, NOAA Fisheries Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program, 2013
Seen along the Illinois and Michigan Canal path, this painted turtle was hiding from us as we tried to photograph him.
Notice how the stripes on his head go right through his eye.
And his dirty mouth!!
Look at how tiny he is. Those aren't big rocks next to him, those are tiny pebbles. We saw him on our walk at Independence Grove.
Come out of your shell. Cuaght him/her trying to cross the Paint Creek Trail in Lake Orion, Michigan.
haven't been uploading as i have mocks & exams. here is a photo i took of a turtle during my visit to Bournemouth aquarium. i'm drawing it for my mock exam in art. turtles are amazing!
Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles (honu), apparently uniquely among sea turtles, sometimes bask on the beach during the day. This is turtle L-2, HiwaHiwa, done basking at "Turtle Beach" (Laniakea, Oahu) and heading back out into the ocean.
(Pseudemys rubriventris); listed as a threatened species in Pennsylvania
With an adult size of 10 to 12 inches and weighing up to 10 pounds, the northern red-bellied turtle is larger than most freshwater turtles except the snapping turtle.
His shell appeared to be crusted with mud, and he does not have many of the usual markings on his head, just some stripes under his chin. Older red-bellied turtles will become "melanistic" (uniformly dark gray or black); also, males especially may be almost entirely black, but there is usually a trace of reddish lines on the medially flattened upper shell and yellowish head stripes. The tip of the upper jaw is notched with toothed cusps on each side. The lower shell ranges in color from coral-pink to red, with darker markings in the young.
In Pennsylvania, the threatened red-bellied turtle lives in the most developed and densely populated southeast corner of the state. This large, long-lived, colorful turtle lives in coastal streams, rivers and wetlands along the eastern seaboard, but nests on land, making survival difficult for eggs and hatchlings. The greatest threat to the turtles is the industrialization and pollution of their environment. The large, aquatic turtles need to have access to deep stream channels and wetlands, because young turtles eat lots of insects. The adults are nearly exclusively herbivorous and feed on a wide variety of aquatic plants.
A series of shots follow…
Turtle being operated in Australia Wildlife Hospital. The turtle was rescued after being entangled in fishing nets. One fin, which was nearly ripped up, is being sown back on.
Emydoidea blandingii
April, 2011. Clare County, Michigan.
An adult female Blanding's Turtle that was found in a prairie fen on northern Michigan. The red stain of its carapace is due to the tannins from nearby Cedar Trees.
This reminded me of the turtle my great grandma used to keep a long time ago when she was still with us. I miss her from time to time. But I know she's in a better place.
My neighbor has been keeping this baby turtle at his house. It escaped today, so I used the Nikon and wa-lah.