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== Description ==
The loggerhead musk turtle gets its [[common name]] from its unusually large head, compared to the common musk turtle (''[[Sternotherus odoratus]]'').<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Conant|first=Roger|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1423604|title=A field guide to reptiles and amphibians of Eastern and Central North America|date=1975|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|others=Isabelle Hunt Conant|isbn=0-395-19979-4|edition=[2d ed.]|___location=Boston,|oclc=1423604}}</ref> Its head has a light colored background with dark spots/stripes. Hatchlings are about 1 inch in carapace length and grow up to around 3 to 5 inches by adulthood.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=A.|first=Buhlmann, Kurt|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/263712429|title=Turtles of the southeast|date=2008|publisher=Univ. of Georgia Press|isbn=978-0-8203-2902-4|oclc=263712429}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite book|last=Conant|first=Roger|title=A Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians: Eastern and Central North America|last2=Collins|first2=Joseph T.|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|year=1998|isbn=978-0-395-90452-7}}</ref> As juveniles, these [[Turtle|turtles]] have three keels on their [[carapace]] that usually disappear by adulthood.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" /> The loggerhead musk turtle has [[Barbel (anatomy)|barbels]] present on the chin only, not on the throat.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":02" />
=== Subspecies ===
There are two [[subspecies]] of ''Sternotherus minor'': ''Sternotherus minor minor'' and ''Sternotherus minor peltifer'', also known as the loggerhead musk turtle and the stripe-necked musk turtle, respectively.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book|last=A.|first=Buhlmann, Kurt|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/263712429|title=Turtles of the southeast|date=2008|publisher=Univ. of Georgia Press|isbn=978-0-8203-2902-4|oclc=263712429}}</ref> The two subspecies are visibly different, with ''S. m. minor'' having a darker tan colored head covered with dark spots and three keels on its [[carapace]] and ''S. m. peltifer'' having a yellow colored head with some dark spots, but mostly dark stripes and a ridged carapace.<ref name=":03" /> ''S. m. minor'' are generally a little larger in size than ''S. m. peltifer'' ranging from 3 to 5.625 inches (7.5 to 14.5 cm) in carapace length, while ''S. m. peltifer'' range from 3 to 4.625 inches (7.5 to 11.7 cm).<ref name=":13">{{Cite book|last=Conant|first=Roger|title=A Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians: Eastern and Central North America|last2=Collins|first2=Joseph T.|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|year=1998|isbn=978-0-395-90452-7}}</ref>
[[File:Sternotherus_minor_peltifer_Jungtier_ca._2_Monate_alt_ventral.jpg|thumb|''Sternotherus minor peltifer''|center]]
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