California Turtle & Tortoise Club the Tortuga Gazette Dedicated to Turtle & Tortoise Preservation, Conservation and Education Volume 54, Number 6 November/December 2018 Alligator snapping turtle, Macrochelys temminckii. Photo by Gary M. Stolz, United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Public domain. Alligator Snapping Turtle, Macrochelys temminckii (Troost, 1835) North America’s Giant Freshwater Turtle by M. A. Cohen rimordial in appearance and Jacob Temminck (1778-1858). Its serpentina. From 1835 until 2014, Pfierce in temperament, the alli- genus name, Macrochelys, derives biologists regarded the alligator gator snapping turtle, Macrochelys from two Greek root words, macro-, snapping turtle as the lone living temminckii is a formidable species. meaning large, and -chelys, mean- species in the genus Macrochelys. It is, by far, the largest freshwater ing a turtle or tortoise. However, in 2014, a team of re- chelonian species native to North A synonym for the genus name searchers officially described two America, as well as being among is Macroclemys, and even now this additional Macrochelys species the largest freshwater turtles in the synonym is present in the litera- based on DNA evidence and cer- world, and it possesses a unique ture and on the internet. However, tain physical characteristics. The physical “lure” that it uses to at- the publication of the name Mac- Suwannee alligator snapping turtle, tract and catch prey. rochelys occurred before that of Macrochelys suwanniensis sp. nov. 1, Officially described in 1835 by Macroclemys, and therefore has is “restricted to the Suwannee Riv- the Dutch-American naturalist priority (Ernst and Lovich, 2009). er drainage of Florida and Georgia.” Gerard Troost (1776-1850), the M. temminckii belongs the Che- alligator snapping turtle received lydridae, a small family of very 1 sp.nov. is an abbreviation of the Latin the species name temminckii in large turtles that also includes the phrase species nova, meaning a new honor of Dutch zoologist Coenraad common snapping turtle, Chelydra species. 2 November/December 2018 C North America’s Giant Freshwater Turtle by M. A. Cohen 1 O Turtletown: The Turtle Sanctuary of Max and Lillian Greene by Ralph Hoekstra 4 N Mike’s Turtle Net Picks by Michael J. Connor, Ph. D. 10 • Turtle Biologists Outline Ecological Repercussions of a World Without Turtles T The Turtle’s Garden: Common Yarrow, Achillea millefolium 12 E Galápagos Conservancy press releases 13 N CTTC’s Annual Holiday Giving 2018 14 Meetings and Programs 15 T Russell A. Mittermeier: 2018 Behler Conservation Award Recipient 16 S The Apalachicola alligator lateral ridges running the length of Range and Habitat snapping turtle, Macrochelys the carapace and adding to the pre- Endemic to the southeastern apalachicolae sp. nov., is “restricted historic appearance of the species. United States, M. temminckii lives to river drainages bounded by the Its carapace is generally covered in all regional river drainages that Choctawhatchee and Ochlock- with algae, adding to the camou- empty into the Gulf of Mexico. onee rivers in Florida, Georgia, and flage of the turtle as it lies in wait Ranging from southeastern Georgia Alabama,” according to Travis M. while luring its prey. and the Florida Panhandle west- Thomas and his team in a paper Cross-shaped and minimized in ward to eastern Texas, the species published in the journal Zootaxa in size, the plastron of the alligator also occurs as far north as Iowa. 2014. snapping turtle lacks a hinge, and While it occasionally ventures its coloration ranges from pale to into brackish environments, the alli- gray-brown in mature individuals, gator snapping turtle lives primarily while, in juveniles, the plastron may in freshwater habitats in deep riv- be mottled with small white patch- ers and their larger tributaries; it is es (Ernst and Lovich, 2009). also found in bayous, canals, deep The pointed head of the species ponds, lakes, and swamps. Hatch- is huge and grayish-brown in color, lings and juveniles typically inhabit with muscular jaws and a sharply smaller streams (Animal Diversity hooked upper beak. The eyes of M. Web, n.d.). temminckii are encircled by rings of M. temminckii prefers habitats small, fleshy tubercles, and similar with abundant submerged veg- protrusions dot the sides and chin etation that provides cover for of its head as well as its neck (Ernst the turtle’s predatory activities. and Lovich, 2009). The species’ The species is highly aquatic; only tongue “lure” is described in the egg-laying females regularly leave “Feeding and Foods” section. the water in order to nest, although Hand-colored lithograph rendered by John The alligator snapping turtle’s males do occasionally bask. E. Holbrook (1794-1871) in North American limbs are typically grayish to brown herpetology; or, A description of the reptiles inhabiting the United States published in 1842. above and pale on the under- Public domain. side, and the limbs terminate in oversized claws (Wildscreen Description Arkive, n.d.). The tail is nearly as Weighing up to 249 pounds (113 long as the carapace and has kilograms), the massive adult M. three rows of rounded protru- temminckii measures up to 31.5 sions on top and small scales inches (80 centimeters) in cara- underneath. pace length. Reports of even larger Sexual dimorphism in the individuals exist, but those reports alligator snapping turtle is con- are unconfirmed. spicuous, with the adult male Generally dark-colored and turtles being much larger overall rough-textured, the species’ car- and weighing up to twice as apace features three prominent, much as adult females (Ernst Profile photograph of a “typically cranky [alligator] snap- spiked keels, one medial and two ping turtle at Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge in and Lovich, 2009). Alabama.” Photo by Garry Tucker, USFWS. Public domain. Volume 54, Number 6 3 Feeding and Foods factors, mating in M. temminckii oc- international meat markets, habitat Within the mouth of the alligator curs in early to late spring. Nesting alteration and destruction, and snapping turtle there is a unique typical ly takes place once a season, pollution and pesticide accumula- prey lure that the turtle utilizes in but sometimes only in alternating tion (Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle its quest for food. A vermiform (i.e., years. Incubating from 100 to 140 Specialist Group, 1996). worm-shaped) appendage located days, clutches vary in size from Conservation near the front margin of the turtle’s eight to 52 eggs with 30 being the Several states prohibit all com- lower jaw serves as a “fishing lure,” average number of eggs per clutch mercial trapping of M. temminckii, attracting prey into the cavity of its (Animal Diversity Web, n.d.). while other states allow harvesting open mouth. Attached to the lower provided the necessary permits jaw, the appendage wiggles at both are obtained. Using “forensic ends. At rest this appendage is a genetic tools” it is now possible grayish color, turning pink (mim- to identify the origin of turtle icking a worm) when the turtle is meats, determining whether actively seeking prey. the source of the meat is a The only known turtle in the protected watershed, which is world that is equipped with an illegal, or an area in which har- “oral predatory lure,” the alligator vesting is legal with the proper snapping turtle waits quietly in the permits (Ernst and Lovich, mud for the prey to investigate its 2009). “lure.” Sensing the precise moment The International Union for at which to snap its powerful jaws Alligator snapping turtle with its mouth agape. Notice the Conservation of Nature’s shut, the turtle traps its meal inside the vermiform “lure,” the pink appendage at the front Red List currently categorizes its mouth (Ernst and Lovich, 2009). of its lower jaw. Photo © 2007 by LA Dawson. Source: the alligator snapping turtle Capable of staying submerged for Creative Commons; license: CC-BY-SA-2.5. as “vulnerable” while noting 40 to 50 minutes at a time, the that this evaluation “needs turtle lies motionless while hunting As they emerge from the nest updating” (Tortoise & Freshwater in September or October, hatch- and surfaces only to take in air (An- Turtle Specialist Group. 1996). imal Diversity Web, n.d.). lings resemble the adult alli­­gator CITES classifies M. temminckii A dietary omnivore, M. temminckii snapping turtles in many respects, as Appendix III, requiring nations is both a hunter and a scavenger, including the dark, rough-textured to cooperate in the prevention of feeding mainly on fish, also ingest- carapace, small tubercles on the “unsustainable or illegal exploita- ing clams, crabs, crayfish, leeches, skin, and the long tail. Both males tion” for purposes of international mussels, and snails. Other flesh and females mature and become trade in wildlife (Convention on foods include amphib ians, birds, reproductively active between 11 International Trade in Endangered mammals, snakes, turtles, and and 13 years of age (Animal Diver- Species. n.d.). = small alligators. Plant foods in- sity Web, n.d.). clude various fruits, grains, leaves, REFERENCES Predators Animal Diversity Web. (n.d.). Macrochelys tem- nuts, roots, and seeds. Being an Birds, large fish, otters, and rac- minckii (Alligator Snapping Turtle). [online] opportunistic feeder, the species coons prey on eggs, hatchlings, and Available at: https://animaldiversity.org/ also consumes carrion (Ernst and juvenile alligator snapping turtles; accounts/Macrochelys_temminckii/ Lovich, 2009). alligators are also likely to prey on Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. (n.d.). The CITES Appendices | Reproduction the young turtles. CITES. [online] Available at: https://cites.org/ The alligator snapping turtle Humans are the only predators eng/app/index.php exhibits temperature-depen- of adult M. temminckii, which has Ernst, C. and Lovich, J. (2009). Turtles of the dent sex determination/pattern historically suffered substantial United States and Canada. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2, abbreviated as TSD-2.