A SNAPPY FROLIC—
I felt like a primordial voyeur when I recently witnessed the prolonged mating ritual of two snapping turtles in my pond. These turtles have hardly evolved at all in the last 215 million years! They are “...creatures who are entitled to regard the brontosaur and mastodon as brief zoological fads”. (1)
This pair is shown as they begin the mating process—an event, the duration of which, would embarrass the most amorous of humans.
I observed the breeding phenomenon for well over an hour in a near constantly changing series of contortions until they slowly sank out of sight. The next morning I saw a snapper carapace (shell) in the distance with a head at each end. My mating pair still at it? Then, a bit later I watched similar behavior for several more hours.
Large specimens of these turtles may weigh more than 35 pounds and have a carapace more than 14 inches long. They may lay as many as 80 eggs, burying them in sandy soil with good sun exposure for incubation according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. (2)
The sex of their hatchlings is dependent on the temperature at which the eggs develop. The eggs that develop at about 77 F will all hatch out as males while eggs that develop at much higher or lower temperatures will all hatch out as females. Eggs will hatch in about 18 weeks according to the ODNR.
I felt like a primordial voyeur when I recently witnessed the prolonged mating ritual of two snapping turtles in my pond. These turtles have hardly evolved at all in the last 215 million years! They are “...creatures who are entitled to regard the brontosaur and mastodon as brief zoological fads”. (1)
This pair is shown as they begin the mating process—an event, the duration of which, would embarrass the most amorous of humans.
I observed the breeding phenomenon for well over an hour in a near constantly changing series of contortions until they slowly sank out of sight. The next morning I saw a snapper carapace (shell) in the distance with a head at each end. My mating pair still at it? Then, a bit later I watched similar behavior for several more hours.
Large specimens of these turtles may weigh more than 35 pounds and have a carapace more than 14 inches long. They may lay as many as 80 eggs, burying them in sandy soil with good sun exposure for incubation according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. (2)The sex of their hatchlings is dependent on the temperature at which the eggs develop. The eggs that develop at about 77 F will all hatch out as males while eggs that develop at much higher or lower temperatures will all hatch out as females. Eggs will hatch in about 18 weeks according to the ODNR.
Because adult snapping turtles have no natural enemies they usually live a long life and die of old age in the wintertime. Studies have shown 60 percent of the turtles that reach maturity will live to be at least 50 years old. Longevities over 100 years can be expected in northern populations where the activity season is shorter.__________________________________
(1) http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/snappers.htm
(2) http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/
1 comment:
Very Very cool. While I imagined what this post might entail from your earlier hint, I had no idea it'd be so long-lived.
In fact all the recent posts were enjoyable. Liked the bits on malabar, eagles, flowers, mushrooms and Craig. I must say you are good at what you do Dad. Love TJ
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