Wild Guide: Eastern Musk Turtle

Eastern Musk Turtle

Sternotherus odoratus

Status

Once called common musk turtle or stinkpot

Size

2 to 4½ inches

Distribution

Nearly statewide, mostly restricted to counties along and south of the Missouri River

Eastern musk turtles — Missouri’s smallest turtle species — spend most of their daylight hours buried in mud or resting along the bottom of a river, stream, swamp, slough, reservoir, or ditch. Eastern musk turtles are active bottom foragers, searching for a wide variety of food, including aquatic insects, earthworms, crayfish, mollusks, small fish, tadpoles, algae, plants and their seed, and dead animals. In fact, they keep a lot of these populations in check. The nickname ”stinkpot” refers to the odor given off as a form of self-defense. The odor is produced by musk glands in the skin just below the upper shell along the sides.

Human Connections

Anglers occasionally catch eastern musk turtles on hook-and-line when using minnows, worms, or small crayfish for bait. The neck is surprisingly long, and the head can reach back as far as the hind legs. To avoid getting bitten, keep this in mind when handling this species.

Life Cycle

In Missouri, females lay eggs in May through July. Typically, females lay two to five eggs, which hatch 65–86 days later. Most females dig a nest hole and cover the eggs with soil, but some musk turtles lay their eggs on open ground or under debris such as leaves, plants, rotting logs, or piles of sawdust. Occasionally, several females will share the same nesting sites, with many of the eggs intermingled. The lifespan for this species can be up to 30 years.