Identification, Distribution, and Ecology:
The Alligator snapping turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in North America. Larger than the common snapper, it possesses similar characteristics such as a large head, a long tail, and a small cross shaped grayish brown plastron. Alligator snappers are huge and have been documented at weighing over 200 pounds as adults. Their shell is 79 cm (31 in) long and their heads are 24 cm (9.5 in) long. They live in large, slow moving streams, tributaries, canals, lakes, oxbows, swamps, ponds, and bayous. The alligator snapper is state endangered in Indiana and Illinois. It is considered imperiled in Missouri.
