Pacific Coast Musk Turtle

Description

The dorsal armor of the Salvin appears to be broader and flatter than that of its congeners-the Mexican Great Musk Turtle. Usually brown or light gray, the more distinctive features of the plastron, which crosses in a criss-cross pattern, contain a hinged cap at the front and can be closed to a small extent. The anterior half of the hinge cap is longer than the posterior, which is more pointed and not grooved. The ventral armor lacks a throat shield and a rib shield. The order of the abdominal armor from top to bottom is: thoracic shield – abdominal shield – hip shield. The ventral and anal shields are relatively wide and larger than their own length. The bridge of the carapace is slightly narrower, only 20-30% of the length of the ventral carapace, and the ventral carapace and bridge of the carapace are basically brown or light gray. The head is large, with a slightly protruding mouth and hooked upper jaw. It is generally light gray or orange with yellow markings, and the throat is clear yellow. The chin has two tentacles, the limbs and tail are light gray with very small conical tubercles growing from the tail and webbed feet between the toes. The male’s tail is longer and thicker, with coarse, rough scales resembling graduated scales on the calf area of the hind legs, whereas the female’s tail is shorter and lacks such rough surface graduated scales. In addition, males have larger heads than females.