1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:08,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstyck, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. 2 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: Here question, but what does the biggest freshwater turtle in 3 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:18,120 Speaker 1: North America have to do with a household cleaning implement? 4 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:22,520 Speaker 1: The answer involves a well worn bit of folk wisdom. 5 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:26,000 Speaker 1: A legend has it that the alligator snapping turtle can 6 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:29,960 Speaker 1: split a wooden broomstick in half with a single bite. 7 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:33,800 Speaker 1: These are big reptiles. They commonly reach about one hundred 8 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,680 Speaker 1: and seventy five pounds that's eighty kilos, and they have 9 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: an impressive byte strength, hence the name. The zoologist Peter 10 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:44,640 Speaker 1: Charles Howard Pritchard actually tested this claim for his nineteen 11 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: eighty nine book The Alligator Snapping Turtle Biology and Conservation, 12 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: when he pestered an alligator snapper weighing near that known 13 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 1: limit with a brand new broomstick. It grabbed hold of 14 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: the wood. The bite went deep, but failed to break 15 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,960 Speaker 1: the broomstick. However, as Pritchard tried to rest the stick free, 16 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:06,520 Speaker 1: the turtle finished the job, splitting the handle between its jaws. 17 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: It turns out that they have a bite force of 18 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: about one thousand pounds or four hundred and fifty kilos, 19 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: which means that they can snap through bone, so probably 20 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: avoid pestering these creatures. Alligator snappers deserve some respect as 21 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 1: living creatures, not only because mishandling one could cost you 22 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 1: a finger. Still, the turtles aren't normally aggressive around people. 23 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: If you live in the United States north of the 24 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:34,680 Speaker 1: Rio Grande and east of the Rocky Mountains, you've probably 25 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 1: seen the alligator snapper's smaller cousin, the common snapping turtle. 26 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 1: By most standards, the common snapper isn't that small. Its 27 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: shell can measure over eighteen inches long that's forty five 28 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: centimeters and anywhere from nine to thirty five pounds that's 29 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: four to sixteen kilos. This reptile far out weighs most 30 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 1: of the sliders and painted turtles that share its native waters, 31 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: but alligator snappers range for about that size too much bigger. 32 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: The species is sexually dimorphic, meaning that there are distinct 33 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 1: differences in size or appearance between male and female specimens. 34 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: Adult female alligator snappers are about the same size as 35 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: the largest common snapping turtles, but the adult males can 36 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:22,120 Speaker 1: be twice that length and about five times heavier or 37 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 1: even more. Those titans qualify as some of the biggest 38 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:30,480 Speaker 1: freshwater turtles alive today, and here on North American soil, 39 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 1: their size is totally unrivaled. Despite their names, though, the 40 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: common snapping turtle and alligator snappers aren't closely related. The 41 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:44,079 Speaker 1: common snapper has an upper shell that's plated and smoothish 42 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 1: and a long, flexible neck. The alligator snappers shell has 43 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 1: three prominent ridges with spikes that look a little bit 44 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 1: like giant rose thorns and a much shorter neck. Both 45 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:57,919 Speaker 1: have long tails with rows of sort of comb like 46 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: ridges called tubercles. The alligator snapper has similar prominent ridges 47 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:06,799 Speaker 1: around its face, neck, and feet. The alligator snapper will 48 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,720 Speaker 1: further be gray brown too dark brown in color, has 49 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 1: a large head with a hooked beak, and unlike other snappers, 50 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: their eyes are located on the sides of their head. 51 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: They really look like miniature kaiju. If you've never seen one, 52 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:22,600 Speaker 1: look up pictures the next time you get a chance. 53 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 1: Alligator snappers live in the southern parts of the United 54 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,400 Speaker 1: States in bodies of water that drain into the Gulf 55 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:33,760 Speaker 1: of Mexico. Based on pretty recent research from the twenty teens, 56 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: there are at least two existing species, the alligator snappers 57 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: of the Swanee River in Georgia to Florida and the 58 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: ones that live further west and north. There's a proposed 59 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: third species for the Apalachicola River around the Florida Panhandle, 60 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 1: but this is the sort of thing that biologists seem 61 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: to enjoy arguing about. Unlike most semi aquatic turtles, alligator 62 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: snappers almost never leave the water except two lay eggs, 63 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: which the female turtles do on dry land in clutches 64 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 1: of ten to sixty. Alligator snappers do most of their 65 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 1: basking beneath the water's surface, ischeeing the logs and dry 66 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: rock piles where other reptiles soak up sunlight. They have 67 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,159 Speaker 1: an affinity for deep rivers, but they're equally at home 68 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:22,400 Speaker 1: in swamps, ponds, lakes, and canals. They're solitary creatures and 69 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 1: only come together to mate the hatchlings are on their own. 70 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 1: The turtles are most active at night, which is when 71 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 1: they forage for food. Menu options include water, plants, fruits, seeds, 72 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: various dead things, and all sorts of live prey items 73 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 1: like frogs, snakes, snails, salamanders, leeches, crustaceans, other turtles and 74 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:48,840 Speaker 1: even ducks, muskrats, beavers, and young crocodilians. Alligator snappers can 75 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:51,679 Speaker 1: taste compounds in the water that lead them to their prey, 76 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: but fish are their dietary cornerstone, and instead of chasing 77 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: them down, the turtles use la under. The alligator snapper's 78 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:05,839 Speaker 1: tongue is a blood filled appendage that's pink in color 79 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,240 Speaker 1: and shaped like a worm. By wriggling this and keeping 80 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:13,720 Speaker 1: the rest of its body absolutely still, the turtle draws 81 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:17,360 Speaker 1: fish into its open maw. They're the only species in 82 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:21,280 Speaker 1: the world that does this. An alligator snapping turtle can 83 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:24,039 Speaker 1: hold its breath for fifty minutes straight, giving it plenty 84 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:26,719 Speaker 1: of time to wait for some curious critter to swim 85 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:32,280 Speaker 1: within striking distance. Adult alligator snappers stay underwater so long 86 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: that they sometimes boast a carpet of algae along their 87 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:38,799 Speaker 1: upper bodies. When algae grows on their shells, heads, and limbs, 88 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:42,279 Speaker 1: it helps the turtles blend into muddy river bottoms, rendering 89 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: them all but invisible to fish. Hatchlings and juveniles are 90 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: beset by many predators, from raccoons to river otters, but 91 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:54,039 Speaker 1: humans are the only species that adults have to fear 92 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: due to a fad for turtle soup. In the nineteen 93 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:01,480 Speaker 1: sixties and seventies, populations of alligator snaps declined and even 94 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 1: disappeared from rivers throughout their historic range. Commercial fishers were 95 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: harvesting tons every day in some places. A commercial harvest 96 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:14,000 Speaker 1: has since been banned, though Mississippi and Louisiana allow restricted 97 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:19,360 Speaker 1: recreational harvest. Nonetheless, these animals are considered threatened or even 98 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:22,200 Speaker 1: endangered in some areas, and are still at risk from 99 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,599 Speaker 1: human activities in and around their habitats, from fishing and 100 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:30,719 Speaker 1: other recreation to housing and industrial development. The US Fish 101 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: and Wildlife Service has been working on surveying their populations 102 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 1: to learn more about how we can better protect them. 103 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: If it stays out of danger, an alligator snapper can 104 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,480 Speaker 1: live a few decades in the wild. One captive specimen 105 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:46,600 Speaker 1: was at least seventy years, four months and twenty six 106 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: days of age when it finally passed. Today's episode is 107 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: based on the article Alligator snapping Turtle's lore prey with 108 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:00,600 Speaker 1: a wriggling wormlike tongue appendage on how Stuff Were dot Com, 109 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:03,960 Speaker 1: written by Mark Mancini. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio 110 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:06,280 Speaker 1: in partnership with how stuffworks dot Com and is produced 111 00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:09,760 Speaker 1: by Tyler Klang. For more podcasts Myheart Radio, visit the 112 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:12,960 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 113 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 1: favorite shows.