Alternate name: Stinkpot
Family: Kinosternidae, Musk and Mud Turtles view all from this family
Description 3-5 3/8" (7.6-13.7 cm). A feisty little turtle with 2 light stripes on head, barbels on chin and throat. Carapace smooth or with 3 keels, unserrated, highly domed, and elongated; olive-brown to dark gray and often obscured by a layer of algae. Juveniles have keeled and patterned carapace with irregular dark streaks or spots. Plastron small, with 11 scutes and a single inconspicuous hinge. Male's tail ends in a blunt horny nail; inner surface of hind legs bears 2 small patches of tilted scales. Female's tail very short, may end in a sharp horny tip.
Warning When picked up, Common Musk Turtles often secrete a malodorous musk. Males are aggressive and bite readily.
Breeding Nests February to June, depending on latitude. Mates underwater. Lays 1-9 eggs - off-white with stark white band, thick-shelled, elliptical, 1 1/8" (27 mm) - in shallow nest under rotting stump or in wall of muskrat lodge. Incubation takes 9 to 12 weeks.
Habitat Freshwater; prefers quiet or slow-moving shallow, muddy-bottomed waters.
Range S. Ontario and coastal Maine to Florida, west to c. Texas, north to s. Wisconsin.
Discussion Also called Stinkpot or Stinking Jim. When disturbed, it secretes a foul-smelling, yellowish fluid from 2 pairs of musk glands under the border of the carapace. The Common Musk Turtle's long neck can bring its jaws as far back as its hind limbs. In early spring it likes to bask in shallows or amid floating vegetation with the center of its carapace exposed to the sun. Highly aquatic, these turtles rarely leave the water, but they will occasionally climb trees to bask. They annoy fishermen by grabbing bait. One lived in captivity for almost 55 years.
