Musk Turtles On The Move

It was the most amazing thing. We’d been walking back and forth along the bridge photographing the mussels moving around. W called me to ‘come and look.’ It was just before 4:30 p.m. (EDT). There, lifting out of the mud, was a turtle. It had been sitting on top of the mud, covered in a layer of mud and totally invisible as we were watching the mussels. Soon after – over the next half hour - another and another and another turtle lifted out of the mud. In the end I think we saw six or more turtles. And I got the impression that you could set your watch by them 'coming to life.' This was a treat that we wouldn't have seen if that lake level hadn't been lowered and we hadn't been watching mussels moving around.

Turtle #1:

This was the first turtle. It had just lifted out of the mud.

Off it went towards the shadow of a bridge piling.

It made its way along the shadow towards the bridge and settled in under a fallen tree trunk.

Turtle #2

This turtle, a smaller turtle, was more circumspect in getting down to business. At first, only its head was clearly visible.

Then it was out and on its way, a layer of mud still on its shell. It was moving at quite a pace. There were little plumes of mud suspended in the water behind it as it moved along.

Still heading towards the shadow cast by the bridge piling.

Turtle #3

This turtle had only a thin layer of mud on its shell.

Head up out of the water to take a look around.

Deciding which way to head off.

Off to the right today?

Yep, definitely off to the right.

And off we go…

Based on the shape of the head – triangular with a white stripe along the head from the nose towards the neck - I think these are Common Musk Turtles (Sternotherus odoratus). Unfortunately they wouldn’t flip and swim on their backs so that I could see their plastrons and the bottom is much too muddy and soft to even think about trying to wade in to catch one. It was interesting that a couple of them appeared to be longer than the descriptions of musk turtles as a maximum length of about 5 inches.
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Identification resources:
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia: Turtles of Georgia and South Carolina: Common Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus)

Related posts:
- Fort Yargo State Park: Déjà Vu
- Mussels On The Move
- Common Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus)

Common Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus)

This was a pleasant surprise. With the lake level low, I’ve been walking the beach from the point (segment 3-4) almost back to the pedestrian bridge (segment 1). One of the inlets, about midway along segment 2, has water running into the lake.

I spied this little fellow. It was either an Eastern Mud Turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum) or a Common Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus). I can never remember which.

The pattern on its carapace

I did know that I had to get a photo of its plastron (underside) to be able to identify it.

I turned it back over and waited to see if it would make its way back to the water. It poked the tip of its nose out but that was all. I was going to have to provide transportation back to the water.

The obligatory portrait. You can just see its eye to the left midway between the nostrils and mouth. The tips of its toes are just visible in the lower left of the photo.

Back in the water.

I didn’t realize how fast they could move. It took off up the waterway and swam in under this cover of algae. If I had passed this way a few minutes earlier or later I might have missed it.

When I got home, I was able to identify it as a Common Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus). Given that musk turtles may release a pungent musk odor when irritated, this little guy was very tolerant of my interfering with whatever it was doing when I happened on it.
Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification resources:
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia: Turtles of Georgia and South Carolina
- Common Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus)
- Eastern Mud Turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum)