The semiaquatic Common Musk Turtle is characterized by a short tail, a rigid upper shell and small lower shell, and two small fleshy projections or barbels on its chin. The upper shell is dark gray-brown or black. The lower shell is yellow, gray, or brown. The head, limbs, and tail are dark gray or black, and each side of the head has a pair of narrow yellow lines except in very old adults. The tail of males ends in a blunt tip. Females grow slightly larger than males.
Adults are normally 51-114 mm (2-4½ inches) in carapace length. The largest specimen from Kansas is a female (KU 45016) from Linn County with a carapace length of 114 mm (4½ inches) that was collected by William L. Minckley on 10 September 1957. The maximum carapace length throughout the range is 136.5 mm (53⁄8 inches) (Powell et al., 2016).
This turtle prefers the still or slow-moving water of lakes, swamps, sloughs, oxbows, and rivers. It is active from March to November. Although it may move about on warm days during the winter, this turtle burrows into the mud a foot beneath the surface and remains inactive during cold periods when water temperatures drop below 50°F.
The Common Musk Turtle remains hidden during much of the day and becomes active at night, foraging for food. In suitable habitat, however, it will bask in the sun and may climb into bushes and up logs to as much as six feet above water.
Common Musk Turtles mate during May or June and sometimes again in the fall. Courtship is similar to that described for the Yellow Mud Turtle. Females nest from May to August, either digging shallow nests in loose soil or laying the eggs on the ground in the open. Several females may nest together. Each female lays from two to seven elongate white eggs. If laid during May or June, the eggs hatch in two or three months, but when laid in the fall, the eggs may not hatch and the young may not emerge until the next spring. Newly hatched young orient toward the light of large open areas (such as lakes) and thus find their way to water.
This turtle is an omnivorous scavenger, eating aquatic plants, insects, earthworms, snails, crayfishes, and small or dead fishes.
First definitively reported from Kansas by Cragin (1880) in which he listed this species as common in the Osage River based on that authority of Agassiz. The earliest reliable voucher from Kansas is KU 3024, which was collected in Drum Creek, Montgomery County during December of 1912.
Householder (1916) first definitely reported this species from Kansas. His inclusion of this taxon is based on specimens from Wallace (discussed above) and Montgomery counties. The earliest existing specimen (KU 3028) was collected in Wallace county in 1911. The earliest existing legitimate specimen (KU 3024) was collected from Drum Creek in Montgomery County in December of 1912.
Eastern Musk Turtles were seined from pools in the dried-up bed of Silver Creek II miles southeast of Winfield, Cowley County, Kansas, on August 31, 1934, (Burt 1935).
Burt and Hoyle (1935) reported on a young specimen seined from Sandy creek, a branch of the Verdigris River, in southern Woodson County, Kansas, at a point 5 1/2 miles northeast of Coyville on 27 June 27, 1931.
The Common Musk Turtle gives off a foul-smelling musk when excited.
Gibbons (1987) reported a minimum known life span of 15- 19 years for this turtle. Based on a captive specimen, Snider and Bowler (1992) reported a maximum longevity for this turtle of 54 years and nine months.
References
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