Mystery Catch of Alligator Snapping Turtle
In Weishan Lake, Anhui province, China, a fisherman named Sun Yongcheng netted a most mysterious creature that appeared to be a cross between a dinosaur and a turtle.
It was later identified as an Alligator Snapping Turtle, which is an alien species not indigenous to China.
“I suddenly noticed a black thing was hooked on the net, which scared me. It was struggling and biting the net when I pulled it up,” said Sun.
The presence of this Alligator Snapping Turtle in these waters raises a most unsettling issue. How did it get there?
The species, which is native only to North America and particularly to southern US waters, might have been someone’s pet (unadorable as it looks) and might have been dumped in the lake.
“The creature’s alien status means that it could have posed a danger to the local ecological system,” said a spokesman from the local fishing department.
The Alligator Snapping Turtle is among the largest of the world’s freshwater turtles. This one measures 76 cm long (2.5 feet), 30 cm wide (1 foot) and weighs about 15 pounds. The large heavy head can raise a few shivers up and down spines because of its resemblance to some of those plated dinosaurs of prehistoric times.
The Alligator Snapping Turtle is quickly distinguished from its cousin, the Common Snapping Turtle by the three distinct rows of spikes and raised plates on its carapace.
The mysteries of the sea are indeed baffling. How this turtle found its way to Chinese waters is a question that will never be answered.
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Filed Under: Animals
