Eastern Musk Turtle

I believe this is an Eastern Musk Turtle, though I don't see them very often and only got one picture before the camera-shy fella swam off. (At least one person on iNaturalist supported this ID.)

Certainly the carapace scutes look wrong for our most common basking turtles. And the turtle does seem to have a fairly domed carapace. And the Eastern Musk Turtles seem to have a pointier snout, which seems to be the case here.

These guys are in the same family as the mud turtles like our Eastern Mud Turtle, which is probably their closest relative around here.

The alternative name for the Eastern Musk Turtle is the (extremely flattering) Stinkpot. Both names allude to their ability to emit a foul/musky odor, possibly to deter predators.

April 27, 2021 at Delaware-Raritan Canal
Photo 127320577, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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