Scientific Name: Chelydra serpentina
Size: 8-18.5 inches (20-47 cm) in length
PA Status: Abundant

Habitat Type:
Almost any fresh water habitat – Pools, ponds, streams, rivers, lakes, marshes, and swamps.

Colorations:

• The carapace color is light brown, olive-brown to black.
• The carapacial scales often have dark radiating lines that run from the center to the edge.
• The plastron is off-white to yellowish grey.
• The skin of the head, neck, legs, and tail are brown, brownish-grey to brown-black above, and ventrally may be white.
• The head is unpatterned, but the jaws may have steaks of dark lines

Characteristics:

• Large aquatic species.
• The carapace is somewhat oblong and very heavy.
• The costal and vertebral scutes have raised keels that are more noticeable in hatchlings and juveniles. Older individuals may have a smooth carapace.
• The posterior margin of the carapace is strongly serrated.
• The plastron is small and cruciform and connected to the plastron by a pair of long, narrow bridges.
• The head is large, and the neck is long and thin.
• The top portion of the head is covered with tuberosities.
• The jaws are heavy and the lower jaw has a hooked tip.
• The chin has barbels.
• The legs are large and thick.
• The feet have thick claws.
• The tail is long and thick at the base and tapers to a point.

Juvenile coloration and characteristics:

• Similar to adults

Confused with:

• Common Musk Turtle

Coloration/Pattern Photos:
Adults

Juveniles

Range Map:

References:

• Hulse, C. and McCoy C. J. and Ellen Censky ,1998. Amphibians and Reptiles of Pennsylvania and the Northeast. 188-193pp.
• Ernst, Carl H. and Lovich, Jeffrey E., and Barbour, Roger W. ,1994. Turtles of the United States and Canada. 2-18pp.

Photo Credits:

• John Smith
• Billy Brown
• Bob Hamilton
• Jeff Hankey
• Wayne Fidler
• Dave Emma