Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians : Eastern and Central North America

This newly designed field guides features detailed descriptions of 595 species and subspecies. The 656 full-color illustrations and 384 drawings show key details for accurate identification. More than 100 color photographs and 333 color photographs and 333 color distribution maps accompany the species descriptions.

ALLIGATOR SNAPPING TURTLE Pls. 3, 9 Macroclemys temminckii IDENTIFICATION: 1526 in. (3866 cm); record 311?2 in. (80 cm). Weight 35150 lbs. (1668 kg); record 251 lbs. (113.9 kg) for a specimen maintained in captivity for nearly 50 years; 316 lbs. (143.3 kg) for a wild-caught example. Look for the huge head with its strongly hooked beaks, the prominent dorsal keels, and the extra row of scutes on each side of the carapace. Likely to be confused only with Snapping Turtles. Young (Pl. 3): Brown, shell exceedingly rough; tail very long. About 11?413?4 in. (34.4 cm) at hatching. This gigantic freshwater turtle, our largest and one of the largest in the world, often lies at bottom of lake or river with mouth held open. A curious pink process on floor of mouth resembles a worm, wriggles like one, and serves as a lure for fish. similar species: Snapping Turtle has a saw-toothed tail and a smaller head, and also lacks the extra row of scutes be-tween costals and marginals. range: Sw. Ga. and n. Fla. to e. Texas; north in Mississippi Valley to Kans., Iowa, and sw. Ky.; an isolated record in cen. Tenn.

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Excerpted from A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians: Eastern and Central North America by Roger Conant, Joseph T. Collins
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