Species: Common Musk Turtle

Sternotherus odoratus

July 7th, 2014. The first wild musk turtle I have every held.

I first started thinking about this turtle way back in the early 2000s as a teenager. I was trying to single-handedly determine all the original created kinds (an arduous task) and I started with my favourites, the reptiles. I became troubled with the Kinosternidae (mud and musk turtles) and Chelydridae (snapping turtles) in particular because the former seemed to be miniature versions of the larger, with slightly more of an emydid (pond turtle) look. The question was, were they the same created kind or different. I emailed entomologist Mr. Gordon Wilson and veterinarian Dr. Jean Lightner about the dilemma because they were involved in a baraminology study group at the time. Mr. Wilson seemed to be leaning toward the idea of two different created kinds. I am still undecided to this day, although it seems that most creationists continue to lean toward the idea of separate holobaramins (created kinds).

This week, I was reminded of these distant thoughts. Morning of June 7th, a Saturday, I was walking redundantly around the lakes on Notre Dame's campus when I noticed a small turtle in the grass at the lakeshore. I moved to make a capture but stopped. What was she doing way out here? Of course! Closer inspection revealed that her hindquarters were lowered in a shallow depression. Under there was a hole, carved out by here hind legs for the deposition of eggs. Not willing to miss a magic moment, I sat down on the grass a ways off and waited. She huffed and wheezed, apparently expending a significant amount of energy expelling the eggs from her 5 inches or so of length. It was a half hour later the her rear started to move; burying her eggs.
Common musk turtles are not particularly common, unfortunately. Nest survival rates are incredibly low with only about 15% of nests going undiscovered by predators. Among hatchlings, few of those make it to adulthood. In parts of the US the musk turtle is considered a threatened species and it is considered endangered in Canada. The female I found was fully grown, but quite small compared to other turtle species. She certainly looked delicate and vulnerable laying her eggs in an open weedy area like the one she had chosen. Maybe the heavy human traffic, who were largely oblivious to the turtles presence, keep predators off most of the time.

When she had finished and started moving back to the water I carefully picked her up and inspected her closely. She seemed a little tired. I set her back down on the bank where she rested a moment before sliding back into the water. I turned my attention to the nest. She had done a pretty good job of covering the eggs, but had left on small, white egg sticking out of the top. I know painted turtles typically go to great lengths to make sure their eggs are concealed. Perhaps she wasn't comfortable with me watching her. The nest was fairly well hidden simply because of its location down in the weeds, but I obligingly covered the single exposed egg anyways. An extra help the little turtles can have at life would be appreciated, I figure. I'll be back in Canada when they hatch around 100 days after laying.