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=":020">{{Citebook|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|last1=Conant|first1=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=":020" /><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=":020" />
=== 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=":030">{{Citebook|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=":030" /> ''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=":1312">{{Citebook|last1=Conant|first1=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]]
Line 48:
== Diet ==
The diet of the loggerhead musk turtle changes as it grows. Younger turtles have a more varied diet, eating [[Insect|insects]], [[Snail|snails]], [[crayfish]], and [[Clam|clams]] while adults eat mostly [[Snail|snails]] and [[Clam|clams]] since adults are larger.<ref name=":727">{{Citejournal|last=Pfaller|first=Joseph Bryce|date=2009|title=Bite-Force Generation and Feeding Biomechanics in the Loggerhead Musk Turtle, Sternotherus Minor: Implications for the Ontogeny of Performance|url=https://fsu.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/fsu%3A176434/|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":323">{{Citejournal|last1=Cox|first1=William A.|last2=Wyatt|first2=Steven T.|last3=Wilhelm|first3=Walter E.|last4=Marion|first4=Ken R.|date=1988|title=Infection of the Turtle, Sternotherus minor, by the Lung Fluke, Heronimus mollis: Incidence of Infection and Correlations to Host Life History and Ecology in a Florida Spring|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1564348|journal=Journal of Herpetology|volume=22|issue=4|pages=488|doi=10.2307/1564348|jstor=1564348|issn=0022-1511}}</ref>
Loggerhead musk turtles forage in [[Stream|streams]] with sandy or vegetated bottoms with varying speeds of currents.<ref name=":323" /> They spend most of their time in the water with less time spent basking out in the sun as is observed in other species.<ref name=":992">{{Citejournal|last1=Cox|first1=William A.|last2=Marion|first2=Ken R.|date=1978|title=Observations on the female reproductive cycle and associated phenomena in spring-dwelling populations of Sternotherus minor in North Florida (Reptilia: Testudines)|journal=Herpetologica|pages=20–33|via=JSTOR}}</ref>
