Winston Kraft, age 9, of Orlando, Fla., for his question:
WHAT ARE SNAPPING TURTLES?
Turtles are the only reptiles that have shells. Most can pull their heads, legs and tails into their shells for protection from their enemies. There are 240 species of turtles with about 50 of them found in North America north of Mexico.
Snapping turtles are large, fresh water turtles that live only in North America, Central America and the northern part of South America. There are three different kinds of snapping turtles: the common snapper, the Florida snapping turtle and the alligator snapper.
The common snapper can be found all the way from Canada to Ecuador. It can grow to be about 19 inches long but it has an extremely small shell in relation to the rest of its body. The common snapper cannot retreat into its shell for protection, and therefore must depend on its extremely strong jaws for defense.
Florida snapping turtles are found only in Florida and they are very closely related to the common turtle.
Alligator snappers live in the central and southeastern parts of the United States. This species is the largest of all turtles living in North America, with the exception of the sea turtle. An alligator snapper often weighs more than 200 pounds and can grow to be more than 2 feet long.
All snapping turtles feed on small animals found in the water, such as frogs, insects, snails and young waterfowl. They also eat water plants, especially algae.
If disturbed, snapping turtles may bite fiercely. Their strong, sharp edged jaws provide them with lots of protection.
All together, there are seven main groups of turtles: snapping turtles, mud and musk turtles, pond and marsh turtles, sea turtles, side necked turtles, soft shelled turtles and tortoises.
The largest family of turtles is in the pond and marsh classification. There are more than 80 of this type found in Asia, Europe, North and South America and Africa.
Most of the pond and marsh turtles found in the U.S. are brightly colored with yellow, red or green markings on their shells, heads and legs. Most of them are very small but some types can be found that grow to be a foot long.
Like snappers, the pond and marsh turtles live mostly in water.
All turtles hatch from eggs which are fertilized within their mothers' bodies. Strange as it may seem, one mating can fertilize the eggs of a female turtle for several years.
All turtles, including sea and fresh water types, lay their eggs on land sometime between late spring and late autumn. A number of turtle species lay eggs more than once each year.