Woohoo~ According to the editor's recent investigation, many netizens want to know the specific information of the giant musk turtle. In line with the purpose of serving everyone, the editor decided to introduce this turtle species to you in detail today, come and have a look!

One 、Basic information

Chinese name: giant musk turtle

Latin name: Sternotherus minor

Kingdom: Animalia

Door: Chordate

Subphylum: Vertebrate Subphylum

Class: Reptiles

Subclass: Apocarpus

2. Appearance characteristics

1. The body length of the giant musk turtle is usually about 8-13.5 cm, and the carapace length of some large individuals can even reach 14 cm. The carapace is oval in shape as a whole, with a flat surface, brown or orange in color, with scattered black spots and black radial stripes.

2. There are three vertebra lines on the carapace of the giant musk turtle. However, these vertebra lines will become blurred or faded with age.

3. The skin of the giant musk turtle is usually pink, orange and gray. The beak is dark brown, the upper jaw is hooked, but not very obvious, and the chin has two tentacles.

III. Distribution range

The giant musk turtle is mainly distributed in the southeastern United States, southwestern Virginia, eastern Tennessee, and central and southern Mississippi Pearl Lake Basin etc.

four , Habitat

The giant musk turtle prefers to live in large springs, streams, swamps, and oxbow lakes. on the rocks above the water.

5. Eating habits

The giant musk tortoise mainly feeds on mollusks and various aquatic plants when it is young. Development, giant musk turtles will begin to prey on small fish, shrimp, spiders and small reptiles. This is actually a relatively large change, which means that the bite force of the giant musk turtle becomes stronger, and the jaw muscle tissue can be expanded and adjusted according to the size of the food.

VI. Growth time

It takes 4-8 years for the male giant musk tortoise to fully mature, and the female giant musk tortoise to fully mature, then It takes 7 years, although a small number of individuals mature around 6 years.

VII , Reproduction

The reproduction method of the giant musk turtle is oviparous. April-July every year is their mating time, of which April is the peak mating period.

Ps: There are also a small number of giant musk turtles that mate in August-October.

The giant musk turtle can lay 1-4 clutches of eggs each time, each clutch has 2-3 eggs, each egg is oval, and the color is translucent pink, after the embryo develops, the egg The color will gradually change to an opaque white, and the incubation time is about 90-120 days.

That's all about the giant musk turtle! If there is anything you don't understand, please leave a message below~