The loggerhead musk turtle (Sternotherus minor) is a species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. This turtle has a large head which has a light-colored background with dark spots or stripes present on the head and neck. The average size of an adult loggerhead musk turtle is about 3–5 in (7.6–12.7 cm) in straight carapace length.
The species is native to the southern United States, being found in rivers, wetlands, and streams in the states of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. The diet of an adult loggerhead musk turtles consists mostly of clams and snails.
As of 2016 the conservation status of the loggerhead musk turtle is "Least Concern", and its common threats include habitat loss and human interactions such as car or boating accidents.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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InsectivoresAn insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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MolluscivoreA molluscivore is a carnivorous animal that specializes in feeding on molluscs such as gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods, and cephalopods. Known mo...
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ScavengerScavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While sc...
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NatatorialNatatorial animals are those adapted for swimming. Some fish use their pectoral fins as the primary means of locomotion, sometimes termed labriform...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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PolygynandryPolygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season.
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PolygamyPolygamy is the practice of breeding with multiple partners. When a male breeds with more than one female at the same time – it is called polygyny....
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HibernatingHibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy charac...
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starts withThe loggerhead musk turtle gets its common name from its unusually large head, compared to the common musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus ). Its head has a light-colored background with dark spots/stripes. Hatchlings are about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in straight carapace length and grow up to around 3 to 5 inches (about 8 to 13 cm) by adulthood. Juveniles have three keels on the carapace that usually disappear by adulthood. The loggerhead musk turtle has barbels present on the chin only, not on the throat.
S. minor is found in freshwaters of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.It occurs in the Ogeechee, Altamaha, and Apalachicola river systems. It shares parts of its range in southeast Alabama, west Florida, and west Georgia with the stripeneck musk turtle (Sternotherus peltifer ), and both species can be found in rivers such as the Choctawhatchee and Perdido.
S. minor lives in clean freshwater habitats such as springs, streams, runs, wetlands, ponds, and rivers.
The diet of the loggerhead musk turtle changes as it grows. Younger turtles have a more varied diet, eating insects, snails, crayfish, and clams while adults eat mostly snails and clams since adults are larger.
The loggerhead musk turtle forages in streams with sandy or vegetated bottoms with varying speeds of currents. It spends most of its time in the water with less time spent basking out in the sun than is observed in other species.
S. minor is oviparous. Between August and June, females can lay up to five clutches with one to four eggs per clutch. Larger females tend to have larger eggs and more eggs per clutch. Females lay their eggs on the shore, in holes 8–15 cm (3.1–5.9 in) deep. Hatchlings typically have a carapace length of 2.47 cm (0.97 in).
The IUCN has listed the loggerhead musk turtle as an animal of least concern.
Some common threats to this turtle include habitat loss, negative interactions with humans, such as being killed by cars or boats or dying after biting fish hooks, and indirect threats such as threats to their food sources. While this turtle is vulnerable to habitat loss, many waterways within its range are protected by Florida state law. Florida list it as a protected species.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...