Common Snapping Turtle

Description:

Spotted in a scour hole in western Iowa near the Missouri River. This individual is a male.

Habitat:

The snapping turtle is primarily aquatic, inhabiting freshwater and brackish environments, although they will travel overland. They are most often found in turbid waters with a slow current. They spend most of their time lying on the bottom of deep pools or buried in the mud in shallow water with only their eyes and nostrils exposed.

Notes:

The snapping turtle's range stretches from S. Alberta and east to Nova Scotia in the north, extending south all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and into central Texas.