"Snapping turtles, as we know them today evolved already about 40
million years ago, and they are the ancestors of about 80% of all
the turtles today. Today’s snapping turtles have hardly changed from
215 million years ago when Proganochelys, the most primitive turtle
known, lived. In comparison the age of the dinosaurs was approximately
150 million years ago, 100 million years more recent than the first
turtle. Turtles were one of the few reptile groups, which survived the
impact of a six mile wide meteorite on earth and the following nuclear
winter about 65 million years ago. To put things into proportion: humans
evolved a mere short 3.5 million years ago.
A 10-year-old
individual measures about 7 inches (18 cm) and a 25-year-old individual
about 11 inches (27 cm). Growth rates in northern populations are slower
and body sizes larger than in southern populations.The largest snapping
turtle ever recorded was 18.5 in (47 cm) (carapace length). Weights of
35 to 45 pounds are reached (8 to 14 inch individuals). The heaviest
snapping turtle ever caught in the wild weighed 68 lbs." source -
tortoisetrust.org
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