NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Alligator Snapping Turtle
Macrochelys temminckii (Troost, 1835)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is a large species of turtle in the family Chelydridae. They are the largest freshwater turtle in North America. The species is endemic to freshwater habitats in the United States. M. temminckii is one of the heaviest living freshwater turtles in the world. It is often associated with, but not closely related to, the common snapping turtle, which is in the genus Chelydra. The specific epithet temminckii is in honor of Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck.
Wikipedia contributors, Alligator snapping turtle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:17:46.824408+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Macrochelys temminckii (Troost, 1835)
- Name authority
- (Troost, 1835)
- Common name
- Alligator Snapping Turtle
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Testudines
- Family
- Chelydridae
- Genus
- Macrochelys
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderTestudines Batsch, 1788
- suborderCryptodira
- superfamilyChelydroidea
- familyChelydridae
- genusMacrochelys
- speciesMacrochelys temminckii (Troost, 1835)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Macrochelys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Suwannee Alligator Snapping TurtleMacrochelys suwanniensis Thomas, Granatosky, Bourque, Krysko, Moler, Gamble, Suarez, Leone & Roman, 2014 | ChelydridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Macrochelys apalachicolae Thomas, Granatosky, Bourque, Krysko, Moler, Gamble, Suarez, Leone & Roman, 2014 Thomas, Granatosky, Bourque, Krysko, Moler, Gamble, Suarez, Leone & Roman, 2014 | synonym |
| Testudo planitia Gmelin, 1789 Gmelin, 1789 | synonym |
| Chelonura temminckii Troost ex Harlan, 1835 Troost ex Harlan, 1835 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Macrochelys&species=temminckii Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3X3WY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.