Snapping Turtles: Chelydridae

Most people know snapping turtles for their unfriendly personality. The turtles can quickly strike out with their long necks and powerful jaws and snap at any passing animals, whether it is a fish or other prey they want to eat or a person who comes too close. Instead of teeth, they have a hook at the front of the upper jaw that helps in grasping and then tearing apart prey. Snapping turtles occasionally sunbathe, or "bask," on land, but more typically they float just below the water's surface and soak up the warmth there. Snapping turtles that live in warmer climates are active day and night all year long, but those that live in cooler areas usually are active only during the day and typically spend the cold winter months buried in the muddy bottom of a waterhole.

During the breeding season, the female digs a hole on land, sometimes near the water and at other times quite far away, in dry areas. There, she lays up to 109 round eggs and buries them. Snapping turtles provide no care for the eggs or the young that hatch from the eggs. The outdoor temperature controls the number of males and females in each batch of eggs.