Alligator snapping turtle (Macroclemys temminckii)
Chordate: Vertebrate: Reptile: Testudines: (Turtles)
Native North American turtle
Habitat: deep sloughs of large rivers.
Diet: fish, small turtles.
ID Features: upper jaw with downcurved beak, extra row of scutes on lateral edge of the shell, prominent points on upper shell, tongue is a lure.
Natural History: The alligator snapping turtle is a very large turtle with a very large head. The upper jaw has a sharply curved beak. It can reach sizes in excess of 100 pounds. It is totally aquatic and seldom basks in the sun. It is found in deep sloughs and deep muddy pools of larger rivers. It feeds by luring fish into its mouth by wriggling its worm-like tongue..
The Amphibians and Reptiles of Missouri by Tom R. Johnson, Missouri Department of Conservation, ©1992