The Turtle That Goes Fishing Using Its Own Tongue As Bait
It lies with its mouth open and wiggles a tongue that looks like a worm.
Which one is REALLY true about the Alligator Snapping Turtle?
The short version
The alligator snapping turtle has a pink worm-shaped lure on the floor of its mouth. It lies motionless, wiggles the lure, and fish swim straight in.
Why it's so weird
- ✓The Alligator Snapping Turtle sits perfectly still on the riverbed with its jaws held wide open instead of chasing anything down.
- ✓The Alligator Snapping Turtle has a small pink appendage on the floor of its mouth that it can wiggle like a worm.
- ✓The Alligator Snapping Turtle slams its jaws shut so fast that a fish taking the bait is finished before it registers anything.
- ✓The Alligator Snapping Turtle bites with enough force to take a human finger clean off.
- ✓The Alligator Snapping Turtle can stay motionless for nearly an hour between breaths, waiting for something to swim in.
You could line up about 2 of them along a 7-year-old!
The full story
This turtle does not chase anything. It opens its mouth and goes fishing with its own tongue. The alligator snapping turtle sits perfectly still on the riverbed with its jaws held wide open. Inside, on the floor of its mouth, there is a small pink appendage that it can wiggle, and it looks exactly like a worm. A fish swims in to take the bait, and the jaws slam shut so fast the whole thing is finished before the fish has registered anything at all. That bite carries enough force to take a finger clean off. The turtle can stay motionless for nearly an hour between breaths, and it is so overgrown with algae that fish approach what looks like a mossy rock with a worm on it. Follow for more weird animal facts.
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“The Alligator Snapping Turtle sits perfectly still on the riverbed with its jaws held wide open instead of chasing anything down.”
“The Alligator Snapping Turtle gets hijacked by a flatworm called Leucochloridium after swallowing the parasite's eggs.”
“The Alligator Snapping Turtle has a small pink appendage on the floor of its mouth that it can wiggle like a worm.”