Alligator Snapping Turtle Pictures, Facts, Information - Middle Stream & River Wildlife Homework

Alligator Snapping Turtle Pictures, Facts, Information
NationalGeographic.com
Photograph courtesy Gary M. Stolz/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The prehistoric-looking alligator snapping turtle is the largest of the North American freshwater turtles.

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The prehistoric-looking alligator snapping turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in North America and among the largest in the world. With its spiked shell, beak-like jaws, and thick, scaled tail, this species is often referred to as the "dinosaur of the turtle world."

Found almost exclusively in the rivers, canals, and lakes of the southeastern United States, alligator snappers can live to be 50 to 100 years old. Males average 26 inches (66 centimeters) in shell length and weigh about 175 pounds (79.4 kilograms), although they have been known to exceed 220 pounds (100 kilograms). The much smaller females top out at around 50 pounds (22.7 kilograms).

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