Editing Alligator snapping turtle (section)

==Description==
The alligator snapping turtle is characterized by a large, heavy head, and a long, thick shell with three dorsal ridges of large scales ([[osteoderm]]s), giving it an appearance reminiscent of the armoured [[Ankylosauria|ankylosaurs]]. It can be immediately distinguished from the [[common snapping turtle]] by the three distinct rows of spikes and raised plates on the [[carapace]], whereas the common snapping turtle has a smoother carapace. The spikes on the carapace gradually flatten out as the turtle ages. ''M. temminckii'' is a solid gray, brown, black, or olive-green in color, and often covered with [[algae]]. It has radiating yellow patterns around the eyes, serving to break up the outline of the [[eye]]s to keep the turtle [[camouflage]]d. The eyes are also surrounded by a star-shaped arrangement of fleshy, filamentous "eyelashes".
[[File:Alligator Snapping Turtle Skeleton.jpg|thumb|Skeleton, at the [[Museum of Osteology]].]]
[[File:Macrochelys temminckii baiting.webm|thumb|Using its vermiform appendage to lure prey ([[aggressive mimicry]]).]]
Though not verified, a {{cvt|183|kg|lb}} alligator snapping turtle was found in Kansas in 1937,<ref name=r1/> but the largest verifiable one is debatable. One weighed at the [[Shedd Aquarium]] in [[Chicago]] was a 16-year resident giant alligator snapper weighing {{cvt|113|kg|lb}}, sent to the [[Tennessee Aquarium]] as part of a breeding loan in 1999, where it subsequently died. Another weighing {{cvt|107|kg|lb}} was housed at the [[Brookfield Zoo]] in suburban Chicago. Another large turtle reportedly weighed {{cvt|135|kg|lb}}.<ref name="Telford2009"/> The species generally does not grow quite that large. Breeding maturity is attained around {{cvt|8|kg|lb}}, when the straight carapace length is around {{cvt|33|cm|in}}, but then the species continues to grow throughout life.<ref name="WCSU"/> Excluding exceptionally large specimens, adult alligator snapping turtles generally range in carapace length from {{cvt|35|to|80.8|cm|in}} and weigh from {{cvt|8.4|to|80|kg|lb}}.<ref name=r1/><ref name="Animal"/><ref name=Chaffin/><ref name=Moore/> Males are typically larger than females.<ref name="tortoise.org"/> 88 adult alligator snapping turtles averaged {{cvt|21.05|kg|lb}}, 92 averaged {{cvt|19.72|kg|lb}}, and 249 averaged {{cvt|13.5|kg|lb}}. Usually very old males comprise the specimens that weigh in excess of {{cvt|45|kg|lb}} per most population studies.<ref name= Chaffin/><ref name=Moore/><ref name=Elsey/> Among extant freshwater turtles, only the little-known giant softshell turtles of the genera ''[[Chitra (turtle)|Chitra]]'', ''[[Rafetus]]'', and ''[[Pelochelys]]'', native to Asia, reach comparable sizes.

In mature specimens, those with a straight carapace length over {{cvt|30|cm|in}}, males and females can be differentiated by the position of the [[cloaca]] from the carapace, and by the thickness of the base of the tail. A mature male's cloaca extends beyond the carapace edge, a female's is placed exactly on the edge if not nearer to the [[plastron]]. The base of the tail of the male is also thicker as compared to that of the female because of the hidden reproductive organs.

The inside of the turtle's mouth is camouflaged, and it possesses a [[Wiktionary:vermiform|vermiform]] (worm-shaped) [[appendage]] on the tip of its [[tongue]] used to lure [[fish]], a form of [[Aggressive mimicry#Appearance of food|aggressive mimicry]]. With its unique head morphology, research suggests that this species has strong natural selection for bite performance, which can directly or indirectly affect fitness.<ref name="Gagnon2022"/> A study conducted in 2023 found that this turtle's bite force can range between 8.2 and 1872 Newtons of force. This bite force is heavily dependent on size.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=LaGrange |first=Seth M. |last2=Kessler |first2=Ethan J. |last3=Li |first3=Zhuang |last4=Morrissiey |first4=Flavio |last5=Merchant |first5=Mark |date=14 June 2023 |title=Bite-Force Scaling across Size Classes in the Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) and the Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) |journal=Southeastern Naturalist |volume=22 |issue=sp12 |pages=440–456 |via=BioOne}}</ref> Research suggests that ''M.temminckii'' thermoregulates by altering its depth in the water column, because this species is rarely seen basking.<ref name="Riedle2006"/>

{{anchor|Bite}}
This turtle must be handled with extreme care and considered potentially dangerous.<ref name="tortoise.org" /> This species can bite through the handle of a broom and in rare cases human fingers have been cleanly bitten off by the species.<ref name="Pritchard"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=Robert D. |last2=Nielsen |first2=Cynthia L. |title=Traumatic Amputation of Finger From an Alligator Snapping Turtle Bite |journal=Wilderness & Environmental Medicine |date=1 June 2016 |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=277–281 |doi=10.1016/j.wem.2016.02.003 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1016/j.wem.2016.02.003 |access-date=14 March 2025|url-access=subscription }}</ref> No human deaths have been reported to have been caused by the alligator snapping turtle.<ref name="Pritchard"/>

<gallery widths="200" heights="160" mode="packed">
File:Macrochelys temminckiiHolbrookV1P24A.jpg|Illustration from [[John Edwards Holbrook|Holbrook]]'s ''North American Herpetology'', 1842
File:Alligator snapping turtle - Geierschildkröte - Alligatorschildkröte - Macrochelys temminckii 01.jpg|With a carpet of algae on the carapace
File:Alligator snapping turtle (51239805410) (cropped).jpg|Head of a young alligator snapping turtle
File:Alligator Snapping Turtle 01.jpg|Head of an adult alligator snapping turtle
</gallery>