Musk Turtle

Sternotherus odoratus

Appearance: Eastern musk turtles are a dark brown with yellow stripes on their head. They also have a dark brown carapace or shell that has a ridge down the center. Eastern musk turtles also have smaller plastrons (the part of their shell on their belly) to better crawl through slow-moving water. In the wild, eastern musk turtles live for up to 20 years. In captivity, they have been known to live 50+ years.

Behavior: Eastern musk turtles, also known as stinkpot turtles, are named after the strong smell they produce as self-defense. They spend most of their time in the water but will bask on logs. They live in slow-moving waters with plenty of vegetation. Eastern musk turtles aren’t the best swimmers and instead “walk” along the bottom and hide under sunken logs and debris. To help them spend so much time underwater, the eastern musk turtle has tiny buds called papillae that draw in oxygen from the water, similar to the gills on a fish. 

Range: They are found on the eastern side of North America from Ontario to Canada to Texas. They live all throughout North Carolina.

Diet: Common musk turtles are omnivorous and feed on small animals, insects, aquatic plants, and carrion.

Linus

Date of Birth: Unknown

Linus came to the WNC Nature Center in 2008 after being rehabilitated.