![]() The softshell turtle's pancakelike shape allows for quick hiding beneath a thin layer of the sand bottom from where it can surprise its prey.Turtles come in all shapes and sizes, yet they all have one thing uniquely in common … a shell. A snapping turtle with its long, bumpy neck, mud-colored body and algae-covered shell, illustrates these characteristics well. ![]() Such turtles usually are colored to blend with their environment and have long, muscular necks that can strike out at prey from a distance. The occasional dead fish or fruit fallen from a riverside tree may attract large numbers of turtles.Ī few species catch fast-moving prey by ambush. Most search for food slowly along the bottom or over weed beds, grazing on vegetation and eating slow-moving animals. Their diet consists of a mixture of algae and plants. Few turtles have the speed or agility to catch fast-moving prey. Eastern river cooters are mainly herbivorous as adults. Adult pond sliders, however, mainly eat plants. For example, young sliders are carnivores, feeding on insects. Diets of certain species change with age. Map turtles feed on snails, clams and some insects. Softshells are carnivores, feeding on aquatic invertebrates, such as aquatic insects. A few species are chiefly carnivorous or herbivorous. Even a snapping turtle's diet may include large amounts of plants along with the animal food it usually eats. Most Illinois turtles are opportunistic omnivores. The highly adaptable snapping turtle, painted turtle, pond slider and spiny softshell turtle thrive in a variety of habitats and conditions. Mud turtles tend to frequent temporary ponds or wetlands, while the closely related eastern musk turtle resides in permanent water. Blanding's turtles are commonly associated with marshes. Rivers are the favored habitat of the smooth softshell turtle, alligator snapping turtle and northern map turtle. For example, Illinois' two terrestrial turtles, the eastern box and the ornate box, are associated with woodlands and prairies, respectively. ![]() Some turtle species are associated with specific habitats. Others, including the eastern musk turtle, map turtles, the painted turtle and the pond slider, commonly nest two or three times per year, at two to three week intervals. Spotted, snapping and Blanding's turtles lay eggs once per year. Small species, such as the spotted turtle, may lay only three to five eggs in a nest, while the larger snapping turtle lays 20 to 40 eggs. Most Illinois turtles lay oval eggs, but softshells and snapping turtles lay spherical eggs. Nevertheless, she is long gone by the time the eggs hatch. She digs a nest burrow with her front legs and then remains with the eggs in the burrow for several days to two weeks. The yellow mud turtle female is an exception. ![]() When the nest is covered, she abandons it, never returning to see her young. After egg-laying, the female again uses her back feet to pull dirt into the hole and pack it down. A nest is usually a flask-shaped hole scooped out with the female's back feet. Egg-laying typically occurs between mid-May and early July. The toes of most species are extensively connected by webbing, an adaptation that aids them in aquatic locomotion.Īll turtles must nest on land. Turtles use their limbs to propel themselves in water as well as over land. Turtles usually have a prominent tail that vary in size with sex (tails of males are longer and heavier than those of females) and with species (snapping turtles have the longest tails of Illinois species). This feature provides the animal with more complete protection. In species such as box turtles and mud turtles, the plastron is hinged, allowing it to close on the carapace. Most Illinois turtles are able to withdraw their head and neck into the shell by bending the neck into a vertical S-shaped curve. However, in softshell turtles, a tough, leathery skin replaces the scutes. In most species, large scales, called scutes, overlay the bones. The shell is fashioned from bones originating in the skin, which fuse with one another as well as with the ribs, vertebrae and parts of the shoulder girdle (Figure 2). The carapace and plastron are connected on the turtle's right and left sides by a bony bridge, which is formed by extensions of the plastron. It has two sections: a carapace, covering the animal's back, and a plastron, covering its belly. Their unique shell (Figure 1), lack of teeth and bony jaws, which are covered with a hard, keratinized beak somewhat like that of birds, make them unusual. Turtles are members of the Phylum Chordata, Class Reptilia and Order Testudines.
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