Common snapping turtle

Amazing - really prehistoric looking!

Very nice Peter!

I once saw a very large specimen being shown off on a late night talk show by a zoo representative. The host asked how old the turtle was due to the size and they did not know. They said they had found in the wild very large specimens that had bullets in their shells dating from the Civil War - so it would appear they can live at least 150 years.

Just saw these pictures Peter. Nice! Snapping turtles will raise up on their hind legs like that if they feel like they might be in danger. They do this so that they appear larger than they really are to whatever is threatening them. All of the spikes and armor definitely make it look like some of the dinosaurs!

Very cool pictures! Definitely neat to see one out of the water.

Amazing creature and it's strange to see it out of the water, have seen them (on photos) so far only in the water, wow! Those are the ones that actually snap at you when you get too close, no?