The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is the largest fresh water turtle in North America, and possibly the world.[1] It is a larger, yet less aggressive, distant relative of the common snapping turtle.
There is an unverified report of a 403-pound alligator snapping turtle found in the Neosho River in Kansas in 1937,[3] but the largest one actually on record is 236 lb which is housed at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, Illinois. They generally do not grow quite that large. Average adult size is around 26 inches shell length with a weight of 175 lb.
Alligator snappers are primarily opportunistic carnivores, but are also scavengers. They will eat almost anything that they can catch. Their natural diet consists primarily of fish, invertebrates, carrion, and amphibians, but are also known to eat snakes, aquatic plants, and even other turtles. In captivity they have been known to consume almost any kind of meat provided, including rodents, beef, chicken, and pork.
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