Australo-American Side-Necked Turtles: Chelidae

Most members of this family eat meat or both meat and plants. The adult northern Australian snapping turtle may live only on vegetation, including algae (AL-jee), which are tiny plantlike growths that live in water, and the leaves and fruits of waterside trees they find during the dry season. The meat eaters may feed on worms, insects, fishes, and frogs. Some also eat mollusks, such as clams; crustaceans (krus-TAY-shuns), such as shrimp; or dead animal matter. Many of the mollusk eaters have large, broad jaws that they use to crush their prey's shell. Other species, particularly those that dine on fishes, have long necks that burst through the water when they are going after prey. As the turtle opens its mouth, both water and prey rush in. The turtle then spits out the water and swallows the animal.