The Loggerhead Musk Turtle

15) The Loggerhead Musk Turtle:
(Sternotherus minor)
Description: 3 1/8-5 1/4". Carapace keeled (prominent in juveniles), with overlapping vertebral scutes; brown or orange, with dark-bordered seams; may be patterned with dark spots or radiating streaks. Plastron small, pink or yellow, with single indistinct hinge and single gular scute. Barbels on chin only. Head has dark stripes or spots. Male has enlarged , spine-tipped tail; tip of females tail barely reaches edge of carapace.
Breeding: Lays 1-4 clutches of of 2-3 elliptical 11/8" eggs. 17 Loggerhead nests have been found in one 5' high pile of sand along a spring run. Brittle porcelainlike shells are translucent pink when deposited, turn opaque white as embryo development proceeds. Incubation take13-16 weeks.
Habitat: Large spring runs, creeks, rivers, oxbows, swamps, and sinkhole ponds
Range: C. Georgia to c. Florida and panhandle, west to e. Mississippi and extreme e. Louisiana, north through e. Tennessee.
Facts: Highly Aquatic, and frequently observed crawling along bottom among rocks, submerged logs, and vegetation. Juveniles feed primarily on insects, adults on snails and clams, which they crush witht the wide surfaces of their jaws. Loggerheads are as pugnacious as stinkpots; the young are capable of expelling musk even before they hatch.