Sternotherus odoratus
Silhouette: Bibron, Gabriel; Duméril, Auguste Henri André; Duméril, C. · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Sternotherus odoratus is a species of small turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is native to southeastern Canada and much of the Eastern United States. It is also known commonly as the common musk turtle, eastern musk turtle, or stinkpot turtle due to its ability to release a foul musky odor from scent glands on the edge of its shell, possibly to deter predation. This turtle is grouped in the same family as mud turtles.
The generic name Sternotherus is derived from the Greek word sternon, meaning chest or breast, and theros, meaning animal, in reference to the hinge on the turtles' plastron. The trivial name, or specific epithet odoratus is Latin, meaning to have an odor, referencing the scent of the musk from the scent glands that the turtles can produce when under stress or attack.
The species now known as Sternotherus odoratus was first described by the French taxonomist Pierre André Latreille in 1801, from a specimen collected near Charleston, South Carolina. At the time, almost all turtles were classified in the genus Testudo, and he gave it the name Testudo odorata. In 1825, John Edward Gray created the genus Sternotherus to include species... Wikipedia →
Recording0:10
United States · 2024
© amythest00574 · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Musk Turtle sighting in Congaree National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 18th most-seen of the 22 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Musk Turtle in Congaree National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July to February, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Musk Turtle sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Congaree National Park, in our data
Congaree National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Common Musk Turtle sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Musk Turtle is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Congaree National Park (11 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
