Characteristics:
    This is the area's, and of the world's, smallest turtles only reaching a carapace length of around 4in. The dark colored shell is domed with a noticeable keel in juveniles. Their head is dark with a pair of white or yellow lines. Plastron is very small compared to the carapace.


Habitat:
   Found in permanent water sources with a muddy bottom. Commonly found in the swamps in southern IL.


Behavior:
   This tiny turtle spends nearly all of its time on the bottom of lakes and rivers. They may be seen basking, but it is not common. Nesting season is in late spring. They eat a diet of small aquatic invertebrates and sometimes aquatic plants. They have very powerful jaws for their size and can break open mollusks. The stinkpot turtle, sometimes called a musk turtle, got its name from the foul smelling substance they release when threatened.

Personal Remarks:
    This is one smelly turtle! The name STINKpot is no joke. We come across these guys while hiking the river systems in MO and also sometimes down at snake road. They almost never come out of the water so to find them we almost always have to feel around in the mud with goggles on to find them.