How Do Alligator Snapping Turtles Work?

an impressive byte strength, hence the name. The zoologist Peter Charles Howard Pritchard actually tested this claim for his nineteen eighty nine book The Alligator Snapping Turtle Biology and Conservation, when he pestered an alligator snapper weighing near that known limit with a brand new broomstick. It grabbed hold of the wood. The bite went deep, but failed to break

the broomstick. However, as Pritchard tried to rest the stick free, the turtle finished the job, splitting the handle between its jaws. It turns out that they have a bite force of about one thousand pounds or four hundred and fifty kilos, which means that they can snap through bone, so probably avoid pestering these creatures. Alligator snappers deserve some respect as living creatures, not only because mishandling one could cost you

a finger. Still, the turtles aren't normally aggressive around people. If you live in the United States north of the Rio Grande and east of the Rocky Mountains, you've probably seen the alligator snapper's smaller cousin, the common snapping turtle. By most standards, the common snapper isn't that small. Its shell can measure over eighteen inches long that's forty five centimeters and anywhere from nine to thirty five pounds that's

four to sixteen kilos. This reptile far out weighs most of the sliders and painted turtles that share its native waters, but alligator snappers range for about that size too much bigger. The species is sexually dimorphic, meaning that there are distinct differences in size or appearance between male and female specimens. Adult female alligator snappers are about the same size as the largest common snapping turtles, but the adult males can be twice that length and about five times heavier or

even more. Those titans qualify as some of the biggest freshwater turtles alive today, and here on North American soil, their size is totally unrivaled. Despite their names, though, the common snapping turtle and alligator snappers aren't closely related. The common snapper has an upper shell that's plated and smoothish and a long, flexible neck. The alligator snappers shell has three prominent ridges with spikes that look a little bit

like giant rose thorns and a much shorter neck. Both have long tails with rows of sort of comb like ridges called tubercles. The alligator snapper has similar prominent ridges around its face, neck, and feet. The alligator snapper will further be gray brown too dark brown in color, has a large head with a hooked beak, and unlike other snappers, their eyes are located on the sides of their head.

They really look like miniature kaiju. If you've never seen one, look up pictures the next time you get a chance. Alligator snappers live in the southern parts of the United States in bodies of water that drain into the Gulf of Mexico. Based on pretty recent research from the twenty teens, there are at least two existing species, the alligator snappers of the Swanee River in Georgia to Florida and the

ones that live further west and north. There's a proposed third species for the Apalachicola River around the Florida Panhandle, but this is the sort of thing that biologists seem to enjoy arguing about. Unlike most semi aquatic turtles, alligator snappers almost never leave the water except two lay eggs, which the female turtles do on dry land in clutches of ten to sixty. Alligator snappers do most of their basking beneath the water's surface, ischeeing the logs and dry

rock piles where other reptiles soak up sunlight. They have an affinity for deep rivers, but they're equally at home in swamps, ponds, lakes, and canals. They're solitary creatures and only come together to mate the hatchlings are on their own. The turtles are most active at night, which is when

they forage for food. Menu options include water, plants, fruits, seeds, various dead things, and all sorts of live prey items like frogs, snakes, snails, salamanders, leeches, crustaceans, other turtles and even ducks, muskrats, beavers, and young crocodilians. Alligator snappers can taste compounds in the water that lead them to their prey, but fish are their dietary cornerstone, and instead of chasing

them down, the turtles use la under. The alligator snapper's tongue is a blood filled appendage that's pink in color and shaped like a worm. By wriggling this and keeping the rest of its body absolutely still, the turtle draws fish into its open maw. They're the only species in the world that does this. An alligator snapping turtle can hold its breath for fifty minutes straight, giving it plenty of time to wait for some curious critter to swim

within striking distance. Adult alligator snappers stay underwater so long that they sometimes boast a carpet of algae along their upper bodies. When algae grows on their shells, heads, and limbs, it helps the turtles blend into muddy river bottoms, rendering them all but invisible to fish. Hatchlings and juveniles are beset by many predators, from raccoons to river otters, but humans are the only species that adults have to fear

due to a fad for turtle soup. In the nineteen sixties and seventies, populations of alligator snaps declined and even disappeared from rivers throughout their historic range. Commercial fishers were harvesting tons every day in some places. A commercial harvest has since been banned, though Mississippi and Louisiana allow restricted

recreational harvest. Nonetheless, these animals are considered threatened or even endangered in some areas, and are still at risk from human activities in and around their habitats, from fishing and other recreation to housing and industrial development. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has been working on surveying their populations to learn more about how we can better protect them. If it stays out of danger, an alligator snapper can

live a few decades in the wild. One captive specimen was at least seventy years, four months and twenty six days of age when it finally passed. Today's episode is based on the article Alligator snapping Turtle's lore prey with a wriggling wormlike tongue appendage on how Stuff Were dot Com, written by Mark Mancini. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how stuffworks dot Com and is produced

by Tyler Klang. For more podcasts Myheart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.