Snapping Turtle Shell

Like all turtles, snapping turtles have a shell that covers their back, also called a carapace. In snapping turtles the carapace is normally between 8 and 18 12 inches long. The shell color ranges from dark brown to tan and can even be black. As a snapping turtle grows, the shell often becomes covered with mud and algae.

Some algae grow nowhere else but the backs of turtles. A snapping turtle's shell only partially covers the body, revealing muscular legs with sharp, curved claws and skin covered with quotwart-like tubercles.quot The head is thick, stout, with a beaked snout and sharp jaw surfaces, not teeth. Raised bony plates form spikes along the tail.

Common snapping turtle image by NPGallery via Wikimedia Commons. The common snapping turtle is widely distributed across North America, ranging from Canada down to Florida and as far west as the Rocky Mountains. It has a dark, rough shell that can reach up to 18 inches in length, with an average weight between 10 and 35 pounds.

The Common snapping turtle Chelydra serpentina is a species of large freshwater turtle. Common snapping turtles have a rugged, muscular build with a ridged carapace upper shell, although ridges tend to be more pronounced in younger individuals. The carapace top of the shell varies in color from black to light brown.

The eastern snapping turtle is a large aquatic turtle with a big, pointed head, long thick tail, and small plastron lower shell. The carapace upper shell may be tan, brown, or nearly black, but it is often covered with mud or algae. The head, tail, and limbs are brown. The head is often covered with numerous small black lines or spots. The plastron and undersides of the limbs are yellowish

Speaking of the snapping turtle's shell, that's the first thing you'll want to get a closer look at from a safe distance, of course!. Inspect The Carapace. The carapace of the snapper is olive, tan, brown, or even black. On top of it you'll see three ridges that run down the turtle's back, which will be more pronounced on alligator

The distribution of the common snapping turtle Chelydra serpentina is widespread from Canada to the west coast of northern South America. C. serpentina serpentina is the subspecies found throughout southern and eastern Canada and in the eastern half of the United States.It is distinguished by a saw-edged crest on the upper side of its tail and averages 20-30 cm 8-12 inches in shell

The snapping turtle shell is rough, bumpy, and sometimes keeled. The extreme textures are much more apparent in Macrochelys species. Young Chelydra species may also be bumpy, but they tend to smoothen with age. Snapping Turtles can partially retract their head and limbs under their carapace top shell. Unlike other turtles, their plastron

The common snapping turtle has a hard shell carapace on its back which is colored brown, olive or black in color. This has three raised keels. The shell can measure between 20 and 36cm 8-14in long. Sometimes these turtles are found with algae growing on their shell. This provides them with camouflage.

The common snapping turtle Chelydra serpentina is a species of large freshwater turtle in the family Chelydridae.Its natural range extends from southeastern Canada, southwest to the edge of the Rocky Mountains, as far east as Nova Scotia and Florida.The present-day Chelydra serpentina population in the Middle Rio Grande suggests that the common snapping turtle has been present in this