Question 12 (Musk Turtles)
12A:Shell solid brown or black, two white stripes on head, bumps or barbels on throat. From eastern seaboard west to Missouri and Texas. Babies very small with keeled shell, lower shell white.
Common musk turtle AKA Stinkpot Turtle, Sternotherus odoratus
12B:Shell brown, 1 or 3 keels, sometimes with black spots or streaks. Head extremely large, spotted or striped. From Florida, Georgia, Alabama, eastern Mississippi and Tennessee. Babies very small with strongly keeled shell, lower shell red.
Loggerhead Musk Turtle, Sternotherus minor S. minor Subspecies
12C:Shell with strong keel, radiating specks or streaks on each scute. Lower shell has only 10 scutes. From western Mississippi, Louisiana, eastern Texas, southern Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Razor-Backed Musk Turtle, Sternotherus carinatus
12D:Shell very flat on top, from Black Warrior river system in northern Alabama.
Flattened Musk Turtle, Sternotherus depressus