the.com/musk turtle
A pocket-sized swamp dragon that gasses you out before you even get attached.
means A small North American freshwater turtle of the family Kinosternidae that releases a foul-smelling musky secretion from glands when threatened.
from The "musk" half points straight to the animal's defense: when grabbed, it emits a stinky fluid from glands near the shell's edge, earning it the nickname "stinkpot." "Musk" itself travels a long road into English from Latin *muscus*, borrowed from Greek, ultimately from Sanskrit *muska*, "testicle" — a nod to the scrotum-shaped sac that yielded the original musk perfume from the musk deer. "Turtle" likely came into English via French *tortue*, possibly tangled up with the unrelated bird name "turtle" (as in turtledove) from Latin *turtur*. So a creature named for both a perfume gland and a coo-bird now smells like neither.
- nickname
- Called stinkpot for its foul defensive musk
- size
- Adults fit in your palm
- lifespan
- Can outlive your childhood pet goldfish by decades
- bite
- Long necks reach back to nip handlers
- breathing
- Absorbs oxygen through skin underwater
sternotherus odoratus — common musk turtle species found in north american freshwater, releases musky odor from glands when threatened
sternotherus minor — loggerhead musk turtle species native to southeastern united states, smaller than common musk turtle