Producer: Popular Science China
Production: Lizard Travels Team
Producer: Computer Network Information Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Some time ago, a message on Tencent video that "a man playing a handsome man kisses a turtle and the next second is tragic" went viral on the Internet.
Image source: News screenshot
GIF source: Tencent Video
However, the "anti-killing" man in the video is not a turtle, but a crocodile turtle. Being bitten by a turtle can be said to be "pro", what will be the consequences of being bitten by a crocodile turtle?
What is a crocodile turtle?
The alligator tortoise, the oldest surviving reptile and one of the largest freshwater turtles in the world, is divided into the true alligator turtle (Macroclemys temminckii) and the quasi-alligator turtle (Chelydra Serpentina sap.) Two major categories.
True crocodile turtle
The true alligator turtle, also known as the alligator turtle, belongs to the only species of the genus Alligator turtle in the family Alligator turtle family. The alligator turtle is huge, generally 61–76 cm long and weighs 77–91 kg. The maximum recorded length is 79 cm and weighs 107 kg.
The alligator turtle retains the characteristics of a primitive turtle and looks like a armored dinosaur. The upper and lower jaws at the front of the mouth are hook-shaped and resemble an eagle's beak. The dorsal armor shield is tan, and the 13 shields are like 13 hills, arranged in three rows, and the edges of the dorsal armor have many jagged protrusions.
The alligator's tongue has a bright red and forked worm-like fleshy process that is connected to the tongue by a round muscle in the middle, which can attract prey like bait. Many documentaries tell the story of the "fishing" way of hunting by the alligator turtle. The tail is thin and long, very hard, and unlike the average turtle, its head and feet cannot be retracted into the shell.
The alligator turtle is the most ferocious of the turtles, and the adult is violent and can actively attack people.
The alligator turtle mainly inhabits the Mississippi River Basin in the United States, feeding on fish, water birds, snails, shrimp, water snakes, etc., and has strong survival ability. They can be seen in much of the Mississippi River.
However, due to the massive hunting of humans, the alligator turtle has long been one of the important members of the Red Book of The World's Endangered Wildlife Conservation List – they are on the verge of extinction!
Specimen of the great alligator turtle (photographed by the author)
Alligator tortoise
The alligator turtle, also known as the small alligator turtle, belongs to the genus alligator turtle in the family Alligator turtle family, divided into 4 subspecies: the South American alligator turtle (Chelydra acutirostris), the Florida alligator turtle (Chelydra osceola), the Sino-American alligator turtle (Chelydra rossignonii), and the North American alligator turtle (Chelydra serpentina).
Baby alligator turtles are generally 31–46 cm long and weigh 23–36 kg. The largest individual carapace is 60 cm long and weighs more than 38 kg.
The dorsal carapace resembles a hemispherical roof, brownish yellow or black-brown, with 3 longitudinal ridges. The upper jaw of the small alligator turtle resembles a hook, but the hook is small. The tail is slightly shorter, and the most notable feature is a zigzag ridge on the dorsal side of the tail, also known as the caudal spine.
The baby alligator turtle is carnivorous, likes nocturnal activity, has webbing on the fingers and toes, and is aquatic, inhabiting deep rivers, lakes, mud pools, and occasionally touching saltwater areas, and is highly adaptable.
It can live for about 45 to 50 years in captivity and about 15 to 30 years in the wild. Because of its large size and aggressiveness, it has few natural enemies except alligators.
Little Alligator Turtle (Taken by the Author)
How hard is the bite force of the alligator turtle?
Such a fierce crocodile turtle, how big is their bite force?
The bite force of the alligator tortoise is well known in the animal kingdom, reaching a staggering 455 kg (1004 lb, about 4400 Newtons). Here's a quick explanation: the bite force should be measured accurately using the mechanical unit Newtonian (N), but for some large animals we usually use mass units pounds (ibs) or kilograms (kg), because this is relatively intuitive. Therefore, this paper takes the standard of 9.8 N gravity generated by 1 kg of substance when converting the bite force. Just the numbers alone may not be able to feel the horror of the bite of the alligator turtle, and you will know it when compared to other animals.
An adult's bite force is about 40 kg (88 lbs, 387 Newtons), and the bite force of a large alligator turtle is more than 11 times that of a human bite, comparable to that of a tiger (499 kg, 1100 lb) and a lion (453 kg, 1000 lb). Even the bite force of the water overlord great white shark, about 411 kilograms (906 pounds, about 3990 Newtons), is slightly inferior in front of the alligator turtle.
The grumpy temper of the crocodile turtle, coupled with such an amazing bite force, is inevitable to be bitten by the crocodile turtle, bleeding and even breaking the hand.
Alligator turtle (image from Wikipedia)
The bite force of the small alligator turtle is much inferior to that of the large crocodile turtle. We measured the bite force of eight adult alligator turtles at an average of 22 kg (49 lbs, 216 Newtons), which is only 5% of the bite force of the large alligator turtle, which is about half the bite force of humans.
Even so, the bite force of the small alligator turtle is the top presence in the turtle turtle.
The bite force of adult red-eared turtles was measured to average 66 Newtons, tortoises averaged 35 Newtons, and Chinese turtles averaged 57 Newtons. Their bite force is more than a point or two worse than that of the baby alligator turtle.
Turtle (taken by the author)
Brazilian turtle (photographed by the author)
Chinese turtle (image from Wikipedia)
However, small alligator turtles with a bite force of 22 kg can still pose a threat to humans and some small animals. Small alligator turtles with dorsal carapace up to 10 cm long can bite a person's hand and bleed. Although juveniles and sub-adults are less likely to bite a person's finger, adult alligator turtles larger than 40 cm are more likely to bite off a person's finger.
It is inferred that the kissing man in the opening picture should be a small crocodile turtle, which is estimated to make the man unforgettable.
Invasive alien species
Such a fierce large crocodile turtle and small alligator turtle are actually invasive alien species.
Because of the endangerment of the alligator turtle, coupled with its huge size and fierce temperament, there are not many in the country. At present, the more commonly seen in China are small alligator turtles, and they can be seen in many parts of the country.
There are many reasons for the spread of small alligator turtles in the country.
(1) Abandonment
Due to its high ornamental value, low cost and strong adaptability, the small alligator turtle is favored by domestic turtle enthusiasts. However, adult alligator turtles are abandoned by their owners and flow into the wild because of their large size and a certain threat to people and livestock.
Small alligator turtle in the climbing pet market (photographed by the author)
(2) Breeding escape
China is vigorously developing the artificial breeding of edible small crocodile turtles, and many individuals escape from artificial farms and flow into the wild.
(3) Release
In recent years, baby alligator turtles have become popular for release. The baby crocodile turtle has also taken advantage of the release boom to settle in the major lakes and ponds in the country. Release is not terrible, releasing such a fierce foreign invasive animal is terrible!
Small alligator turtles caught in the release pond of Nanputuo Temple (photographed by the author)
Small alligator turtles sold at the entrance of Shindo Baoguang Temple (photographed by the author)
Little Alligator Turtle: Enhanced Version of the Brazilian Turtle?
Various reasons have led to the continuous spread of small alligator turtles in the country.
The baby alligator turtle is not aggressive in the water, but it is fierce on land. The head and limbs are powerful and can turn their heads together with their bodies to find the target of attack, or even chase the target. It mainly feeds on fish, shrimp, frogs, salamanders, small snakes, ducks, water birds, etc., and there are recorded cases of small crocodile turtles preying on small crocodiles. Coupled with strong adaptability, relatively long lifespan, and no natural enemies, once escaped to inaccessible places, it will bring great disasters to native fish and shrimp, amphibians, reptiles and even birds.
For the invasion of small alligator turtles, we should pay enough attention. Although the invasion scale of the small alligator turtle is not as serious as that of the Brazilian turtle, in the near future, the small alligator turtle is likely to become the second "Brazilian turtle" that threatens the domestic ecological environment, and the size and bite force of this "Brazilian turtle" are enough to cause harm to people and livestock.
(The images indicated in this article are authorized)