The authoritative musk turtle
The biggest difference between the authoritative musk turtle and other musk turtles is the head , the head of the authoritative musk turtle is relatively large, and the markings on the head are also more obvious. There are two subspecies of the authoritative musk turtle, and the differences between each subspecies are also obvious.
1. Appearance characteristics of the authoritative musk turtle
The authoritative musk turtle Body length 3 1/8~5 1/4" (8~ 13.5 cm). There are ribs on the carapace (especially in larvae), and the vertebral scutes are imbricate; brown or orange, with dark inlays at the intersections. There may be dark dot-like or radiating stripe-like patterns on the sides. The plastron is small, pink or yellow, with an inconspicuous hinge joint, and a single throat shield with only a tentacle on the chin. . There are dark freckles or stripes on the head. The male has a large tail with a spine shape; the tail of the female only reaches the edge of the carapace.
2. The authoritative musk turtle subspecies
The named subspecies (authoritative musk turtle, S. m. minor), there are three Ridged, heavily freckled head; found in central Georgia and southeastern Alabama into central Florida. The strip-necked musk turtle (S. m. peltifer) has one ridge. Ribbed, streaked neck; scattered in southwestern Virginia and eastern Tennessee southward to the Gulf of Mexico and Pearl River, Mississippi, and Louisiana
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