Alligator Snapping Turtle
2,692 views since 2006-11-28
This is a short species profile video by EcoGeeks. They've sent Hazen Audel to Mississippi to look for creepy crawlies in the swamps and overflows. Distribution: Alligator Snapping turtles are found in the southeastern United States in riveres that flow into the Gulf of Mexico. Related Species: There is one other snapping turtle found in the United States. This species is the Common Snapping Turtle (scientific name). It is much smaller than the Alligator Snapping Turtle, its shell is smoother (there are less "spikes" on top), and it doesn't have the prey attracting worm-like tongue. Life History:The female Alligator Snapping turtle lays one batch of eggs each year. She crawls out of the water (males never leave the water) and lay 25 to 30 eggs in a small hole that they excavate. Gestation time is 11 to 16 weeks. The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperature of incubation. Interestingly, most reptiles produce females at high egg temperatures, but both crocodilians and snapping turtles produce females when eggs are both cool and warm, and males when the temperature is intermediate
| Credits: | Rob Nelson, Hazen Audel, Jonas Stenstrom, Stephanie Schneider |
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| URL: | http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/speciesprofile/streams.html |
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