Snapping turtle
| Snapping turtle | ||||||||||||
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Snapping turtle |
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| Chelydra serpentina | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The snapping turtle ( Chelydra serpentina ), also known as the American snapping turtle , is a species from the genus of the snapping turtles ( Chelydra ) within the family of the alligator turtles (Chelydridae). Its distribution is limited to North America .
description
The snapping turtle reaches a weight of 16 kg with a maximum length (of the back shell) of 45 cm. She has a massive physique. The back armor is dark, with three longitudinal keels (often worn down in old age). The breastplate is comparatively small and only connected to the backplate by a narrow band. The snapping turtle can therefore not completely retreat into the shell. The massive head is easy to move, the powerful bill of the snapping turtle can reach far. The tail is as long as the back armor. It has roughly toothed horn teeth on the top. Adult males are significantly larger than females and the distance between the belly armor and cloaca is greater.
habitat
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The snapping turtle lives in slowly flowing waters , muddy lakes, ponds and ponds with a boggy bottom. The water bodies used all have dense vegetation. Snapping turtles are mostly hidden in the mud or between plants. They occasionally undertake hikes of a few kilometers overland, often in search of new waters.
In its northern range, the snapping turtle winters buried in the bottom of the water. The metabolism is greatly reduced (due to the low temperatures); the gas exchange takes place through the skin.
food
Snapping turtles spend much time at the bottom of bodies of water, partly buried in mud for prey lurking . In addition, they are also good swimmers who actively chase fish , amphibians , reptiles and water birds. Snapping turtles occasionally go ashore at night, where they also eat small mammals ; they also eat carrion .
Reproduction
The animals are likely to have reached sexual maturity when they are 20 cm tall. During mating, the male animal clings to the armor of the female animal and introduces its penis , which can be turned out of the cloaca, into the cloaca of the female. The mating season depends on the distribution area and falls in the period from April to November. The eggs are laid about two to three months later. To lay their eggs , the females dig a 20 cm deep hole in a sunny spot in loose soil, in which they lay the 2 cm to 3 cm large, spherical eggs . The clutch usually contains between ten and thirty eggs. In rare cases, very large clutches also have fifty eggs. The clutch is then covered with plant debris and soil. The 4 cm to 5 cm large young hatch after 9 to 18 weeks depending on the weather and migrate to the nearest body of water.
Snapping turtles grow very slowly, reaching a maximum age of 39 years in captivity. Little is known about their maximum age in the wild; Long-term data from the Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada, however, suggest that the animals can live over a hundred years.
attitude
Keeping in Central Europe
The handling of snapping turtles is difficult, also due to the aggressiveness of the animals. If the animals feel threatened, they can quickly injure people with their sharp and pointed mouth. Grabbing snapping turtles by the tail is problematic; the animal is often injured during such treatment. The snapping turtle is also able to defend itself with its clawed front and rear legs. Carrying it on the back legs with the front part stretched away from the body is considered practical. It should also be taken into account that snapping turtles secrete a smelly secretion when they feel threatened.
Snapping turtles are also kept by private individuals in Central Europe. The large size of the adult animals occasionally leads to their release into the wild.
Attitude in Germany
Since 1999 there has been a general ban on trade, new ownership and offspring in Germany (cf. § 3 of the Federal Species Protection Ordinance of February 25, 2005). An exception to this is for animal keeping under zoological expert management, which wholly or predominantly belong to legal entities under public law. It is also allowed to keep people who already kept snapping turtles before 1999 and reported them to the authorities.
Subspecies
In addition to the nominate form, only one subspecies is recognized for the snapping turtle . Two earlier subspecies ( Chelydra serpentina acutirostris Peters , 1862 and Chelydra serpentina rossignoni Mertens et al., 1934 ) are now viewed as separate species. Distinguishing features are the shape of the carapace and the color and number of the pine barbels.
- Chelydra serpentina serpentina Linnaeus , 1758 ; Occurrence: Canada ( Nova Scotia ), central and eastern USA (outside the states of Florida and Georgia)
- Chelydra serpentina osceola Stejneger , 1918 ; Occurrence: USA (states Georgia , Florida )
Danger
The snapping turtle is generally not endangered in its range. This is probably also due to their unpretentiousness in terms of water quality and the acceptance of a wide range of prey animals. The eggs of the snapping turtle are sometimes collected, and their meat is considered tasty. In America, snapping turtles are caught for human consumption.
literature
- Manfred Rogner: Tortoises - biology, keeping, reproduction. Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8001-5440-1 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rogner, p. 57
- ↑ COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina in Canada. Retrieved August 28, 2016 .
- ^ U. Fritz and P. Havas: Checklist of Chelonians of the world . 2007 - full text as PDF
Web links
- Chelydra serpentina in The Reptile Database
- The snapping turtle on animal diversity
- Chelydra serpentina inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: van Dijk, PP, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2013.