The Common Musk Turtle is a small species of fresh-water turtle that is native to the Eastern United States and parts of South-Eastern Canada.
These turtles are sometimes referred to as the Eastern Musk Turtle or the Stinkpot Turtle. It gets the name ‘Stinkpot’ because of its tendency to musk when it feels threatened.
Common Musk Turtle Taxonomy
In the Animal Kingdom, Taxonomy is used as the science and practice of classifying different species and sub-species based on their biological and genetic makeup.
Family
The family that the Common Musk Turtle belongs to is called Kinosternidae. This family contains the Musk Turtles and Mud Turtles.
There are 4 different genera in this family and a total of 25 different recognised species at the time of writing.
The 4 genera in this family are Kinosternon, Sternotherus, Claudius and Staurotypus.
The genus Kinosternon contains all the species of Mud Turtles while the other three genera contain different species of Musk Turtles.
Genus
The Genus that the Common Musk Turtle belongs to is called Sternotherus and contains 6 species of Musk Turtle.
All of the species in this genus are native to North America and can be found in the Eastern United States and South-Eastern Canada.
They are called Musk Turtles because they have musk glands positioned near the bridge of the shell that produces a foul-smelling secretion when the turtle feels threatened.
Some of the other species in this genus include the Razor-Backed Musk Turtle and the Loggerhead Musk Turtle.
Species
The scientific name for the Common Musk Turtle is Sternotherus odoratus and there are currently no recognised sub-species despite the turtle’s large geographical range.
This species was first described in 1801 by a French Zoologist named Pierre André Latreille.
Common Musk Turtle Description
The Common Musk Turtle is a small species of turtle that typically only grows to between 5cm and 15cm in length.
They are typically lack brown or grey in color with yellow or white lines extending from the front of their head down along the turtle’s neck.
These turtles have long necks in comparison to their overall size while their legs are relatively short, giving them somewhat of an ununiform appearance.
Their shells are highly domed and males typically have much larger tails than females which can help distinguish between the two.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Common Musk Turtle is native to the Eastern United States and can also be found in parts of South-Eastern Canada.
In Canada, these turtles can be found in a small part of the Ontario and Quebec regions in and around places such as Toronto and Montreal.
In the United States, these turtles can be found as far North as Maine with their range extending down the Eastern Coast as far as the Southern parts of Florida.
Their range also extends inland where they can be found in a large number of States. In the North, they can be found as far West as Wisconsin.
From there, their range extends down through places such as Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
These turtles are most commonly found in shallow, slow moving bodies of water. They are particularly fond of areas with a lot of aquatic vegetation.
Common Musk Turtle Behaviour
The Common Musk Turtle is a nocturnal species of turtle, meaning it is mostly active at night and sleeps during the day.
These turtles are very rarely seen out basking in the open but are known to climb up onto trees that overhang into the water.
They are an omnivorous species meaning they feed on a variety of food of both plant and animal origin.
Some of the food a Common Musk Turtle will eat includes plants, fish, seeds, insects, snails, tadpole and algae. They are even known to eat fish carrion.
When threatened, these turtles will excrete a foul-smelling odour from glands which has given them the nickname, the ‘Stinkpot’ turtle.