I found this common snapping turtle in the middle of the road yesterday on my way to work. I picked it up and released it into a nearby pond before it was run over.

Backyard Creature Of The Week:

The common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) is a large freshwater turtle of 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 and as far southwest as northeastern Mexico. Chelydra serpentina have rugged, muscular builds with ridged carapaces (though ridges tend to be more pronounced in younger individuals). C. serpentina and its subspecies commonly weigh 4.5–16 kg (9.9–35 lb). Common snappers are noted for their belligerent disposition when out of the water, their powerful beak-like jaws, and their highly mobile head and neck (hence the specific name “serpentina”, meaning “snake-like”). Common habitats are shallow ponds, shallow lakes, or streams. Some may inhabit brackish environments, such as estuaries. Snapping turtles are omnivores, consuming both plant and animal matter, and are important aquatic scavengers; but they are also active hunters that prey on anything they can swallow, including many invertebrates, fish, frogs, reptiles (including snakes and smaller turtles), unwary birds, and small mammals. (Wiki.)

Snake-neck Turtle

Baby Sea Turtle by Bluefam

Giant Water Bug Eating A Turtle

Red-Eared Sliders Eating

rhamphotheca:

Green Sea Turtle by Jeff Seminoff

Caiman and Turtles by National Geographic

underh2o:

Baby Sea Turtle by Greg Adams Photography

Matamata Face

The mata mata or matamata (Chelus fimbriatus) is a freshwater turtle found in South America, primarily in the Amazon and Orinoco basins. The mata mata is a large sedentary turtle which has a large triangular flattened head characterized with many tubercles and flaps of skin and a “horn” on its long and tubular snout. There are three barbels on the chin and four additional filamentous barbels at the upper jaw, which is neither hooked nor notched. The mata mata is carnivorous, feeding exclusively upon aquatic invertebrates and fish. (Wiki.)

Albino Turtle

The Parker’s snake-necked Turtle (Chelodina parkeri) is a species of turtle in the Chelidae family. It is found in West Papua in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. (Wiki.)

Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Hatchling