Common Name: Alligator snapping turtle
Scientific Name: Macrochelys temminckii
Family: Chelydridae
Order: Testudines
Size: Alligator snapping turtles generally range in carapace length from 40.4 to 80.8 cm (15.9 to 31.8 in) and weigh from 68 to 80 kg (150 to 176 lb).
Season: Mating takes place yearly, in early spring in the southern part of their total range, and later spring in the north.
Predators: Adult snappers have no natural predators other than humans
Reproduction: # of offspring and incubation time length: The female builds a nest and lays a clutch of 10–50 eggs about two months later. The gender of the young depends on the temperature at which the eggs are incubated. Nests are typically excavated at least 50 yards from the water's edge to prevent them from being flooded and drowned. Incubation takes from 100 to 140 days, and hatchlings emerge in the early fall.
Location found (where you found/would find it): The alligator snapping turtle is found primarily in southeastern United States waters. They are found from East Texas east to the Florida panhandle, and north to southeastern Kansas, Missouri, southeastern Iowa, western Illinois, southern Indiana, western Kentucky, and western Tennessee. They are found on the Missouri River at least as far north as the Gavin Point Dam, the southernmost dam on the Missouri River at Yankton, South Dakota and are featured in the Gavin's Point Dam Aquarium.
Scientific Name: Macrochelys temminckii
Family: Chelydridae
Order: Testudines
Size: Alligator snapping turtles generally range in carapace length from 40.4 to 80.8 cm (15.9 to 31.8 in) and weigh from 68 to 80 kg (150 to 176 lb).
Season: Mating takes place yearly, in early spring in the southern part of their total range, and later spring in the north.
Predators: Adult snappers have no natural predators other than humans
Reproduction: # of offspring and incubation time length: The female builds a nest and lays a clutch of 10–50 eggs about two months later. The gender of the young depends on the temperature at which the eggs are incubated. Nests are typically excavated at least 50 yards from the water's edge to prevent them from being flooded and drowned. Incubation takes from 100 to 140 days, and hatchlings emerge in the early fall.
Location found (where you found/would find it): The alligator snapping turtle is found primarily in southeastern United States waters. They are found from East Texas east to the Florida panhandle, and north to southeastern Kansas, Missouri, southeastern Iowa, western Illinois, southern Indiana, western Kentucky, and western Tennessee. They are found on the Missouri River at least as far north as the Gavin Point Dam, the southernmost dam on the Missouri River at Yankton, South Dakota and are featured in the Gavin's Point Dam Aquarium.
Common Name: River Cooter
Scientific Name: Pseudemys concinna
Family: Emydidae
Order: Testudines
Size: River Cooters are capable of growing up to 16 inches (41 cm) and about 100 lbs
Season: May- June
Predators: Not many predators except humans
Reproduction: # of offspring and incubation time length: If they do mate, after several weeks the female crawls upon land to seek a nesting site. They often cross highways looking for suitable nesting spots. Females will lay between 12 to 20 eggs at a time, close to water. The eggs hatch within 45 to 56 days and the hatchlings will usually stay with the nest through their first winter.
Location found (where you found/would find it):
Scientific Name: Pseudemys concinna
Family: Emydidae
Order: Testudines
Size: River Cooters are capable of growing up to 16 inches (41 cm) and about 100 lbs
Season: May- June
Predators: Not many predators except humans
Reproduction: # of offspring and incubation time length: If they do mate, after several weeks the female crawls upon land to seek a nesting site. They often cross highways looking for suitable nesting spots. Females will lay between 12 to 20 eggs at a time, close to water. The eggs hatch within 45 to 56 days and the hatchlings will usually stay with the nest through their first winter.
Location found (where you found/would find it):
Common Name: Tiger Salamander
Scientific Name: Ambystoma tigrinum
Family: Amphibia
Order: Caudata
Size: Tiger salamanders grow to a typical length of 6–8 in (15–20 cm) and a maximum of 14 in (36 cm) in length.
Season: Breeding takes place after the first rains in late fall and early winter.
Predators: Some of this salamander's predators include: skunks,raccoons, turtles, chipmunks, squirrels,opossums, and snakes.
Reproduction: # of offspring and incubation time length: Breeding takes place after the first rains in late fall and early winter, when the wet season allows the salamanders to migrate to the nearest pond, a journey that may be as far as a mile and take several days. The eggs, which the female lays in small clusters or singly, hatch after 10 to 14 days.
Location found (where you found/would find it):Adults are rarely seen in the open, and often live in burrows that are usually two feet from the surface. Tiger salamanders are almost entirely terrestrial as adults, and usually only return to the water to breed, but also they partly live in both land and water.
Scientific Name: Ambystoma tigrinum
Family: Amphibia
Order: Caudata
Size: Tiger salamanders grow to a typical length of 6–8 in (15–20 cm) and a maximum of 14 in (36 cm) in length.
Season: Breeding takes place after the first rains in late fall and early winter.
Predators: Some of this salamander's predators include: skunks,raccoons, turtles, chipmunks, squirrels,opossums, and snakes.
Reproduction: # of offspring and incubation time length: Breeding takes place after the first rains in late fall and early winter, when the wet season allows the salamanders to migrate to the nearest pond, a journey that may be as far as a mile and take several days. The eggs, which the female lays in small clusters or singly, hatch after 10 to 14 days.
Location found (where you found/would find it):Adults are rarely seen in the open, and often live in burrows that are usually two feet from the surface. Tiger salamanders are almost entirely terrestrial as adults, and usually only return to the water to breed, but also they partly live in both land and water.
Common Name: Blue Spotted Salamander
Scientific Name: Ambystoma laterale
Family: Ambystomatidae
Order: Caudata
Size: These salamanders are between 8 and 14 cm in length, of which the tail comprises 40%
Season: Breeding occurs in early spring near vernal pools.
Predators: Skunks, raccoons, turtles, chipmunks, squirrels, opossums, and snakes. As eggs and larvae, salamanders are eaten by fish, turtles, aquatic insects, birds, frogs, and crayfish.
Reproduction: # of offspring and incubation time length: Eggs are laid in small agglomerations attached to twigs, rocks or plants at the edge of a woodland pond or ditch. Clutches average a dozen eggs, and females may lay up to 500 eggs yearly. Males and females first mate when two years old. Breeding occurs in early spring near vernal pools. Eggs take about one month to hatch. At hatching, larvae have a well-developed mouth and eyes. Front limbs form at two weeks, and hind limbs form at three weeks. It will fully transform to its terrestrial state by late summer.
Location found (where you found/would find it): Blue-spotted salamanders are primarily found in moist, deciduous hardwood forests and swampy woodlands, though they can be found in coniferous forests and fields too. They prefer vernal pools that retain water into mid-summer, to ensure access to a suitable breeding habitat. Underbrush, leaf litter, rocks and logs are commonly used for shelter.
Scientific Name: Ambystoma laterale
Family: Ambystomatidae
Order: Caudata
Size: These salamanders are between 8 and 14 cm in length, of which the tail comprises 40%
Season: Breeding occurs in early spring near vernal pools.
Predators: Skunks, raccoons, turtles, chipmunks, squirrels, opossums, and snakes. As eggs and larvae, salamanders are eaten by fish, turtles, aquatic insects, birds, frogs, and crayfish.
Reproduction: # of offspring and incubation time length: Eggs are laid in small agglomerations attached to twigs, rocks or plants at the edge of a woodland pond or ditch. Clutches average a dozen eggs, and females may lay up to 500 eggs yearly. Males and females first mate when two years old. Breeding occurs in early spring near vernal pools. Eggs take about one month to hatch. At hatching, larvae have a well-developed mouth and eyes. Front limbs form at two weeks, and hind limbs form at three weeks. It will fully transform to its terrestrial state by late summer.
Location found (where you found/would find it): Blue-spotted salamanders are primarily found in moist, deciduous hardwood forests and swampy woodlands, though they can be found in coniferous forests and fields too. They prefer vernal pools that retain water into mid-summer, to ensure access to a suitable breeding habitat. Underbrush, leaf litter, rocks and logs are commonly used for shelter.