Five fast facts about those not-so-ferocious snapping turtles
As turtles go, snapping turtles look a bit imposing. They're big, for starters, the biggest we see in northern Illinois by far. Plus they can appear to be a bit
Five fast facts about those not-so-ferocious snapping turtles
As turtles go, snapping turtles look a bit imposing. They're big, for starters, the biggest we see in northern Illinois by far. Plus they can appear to be a bit menacing, with their long claws and prominent noses. Their name certainly doesn't help either.
Snapping turtles will snap if provoked, but they aren't generally aggressive. In the water, they are usually calm and docile, and they aren't considered a danger to swimmers. However, they can be a bit more feisty on land, according to Animal Diversity Web.
The bottom shell of a snapping turtle, called a plastron, is quite small compared to its overall size, typically ranging from 8 inches to 18 inches long. The small size of their shells can leave them more vulnerable than some other turtles, particularly because it leaves them unable to retract their limbs and heads into their shells like other turtles can.
Their overall length can be twice as long as their shells thanks to their long tails, Animal Diversity Web reports. Their weight can vary considerably, from about 8 pounds to 35 pounds or more. Males are typically larger than females.
Read on to learn some fun facts about snappers.
There's more than one kind
When you think of snapping turtles, it's likely the common snapping turtle that comes to mind. However, there are actually two snapping turtle species in the world, and both live in Illinois. The second snapping turtle species, the alligator snapping turtle, is far less common than the common snapping turtle across its entire range, according to National Geographic.
In Illinois, alligator snapping turtles are endangered and seen infrequently, with less than 20 confirmed sightings in the state, according to the Illinois Natural History Survey. Their range does not include Will County or the northeast part of the state and, even where they have been recorded populations, they are scarce, most likely being lost-distant migrants from the large rivers that border Illinois.
So how can you tell the difference between a common snapping turtle and an alligator snapping turtle? Alligator snapping turtles look prehistoric, almost dinosaur-like, with primitive faces and large spikes on their shells. Common snapping turtles, on the other hand, have smooth shells. Alligator snapping turtles can also be quite a bit larger, with males weighing between 175 pounds and 220 pounds. Common snapping turtles, on the other hand, usually weigh no more than 35 pounds.
They lived with the dinosaurs
Snapping turtles have been around for so long they lived with the dinosaurs! That means they survived the mass extinction that wiped dinosaurs off the earth some 65 