This volume synthesizes all that is known about the common snapping turtle to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive resource on the species' evolution, physiology, behavior, and life history. Anthony C. Steyermark, Michael S. Finkler, Ronald J. Brooks, and a team of experts detail the systematics, energetics, growth patterns, sex determination, and population genetics of snapping turtles and devote special attention to the fossil record of the snapping turtle family Chelydridae.

This book presents a comparative view of chelonian reproduction and discusses ecophysiological implications for their captive breeding. Chelonians, with their protective rigid armour, are a phylogenetically antique group of reptiles which radiated to occupy niches from the open waters of the oceans, to rivers, creeks, swamps, forests, savannahs, and deserts. A few North American turtle species have been well studied, but until recently reproductive data on other chelonian species have been scarce. The way in which chelonians adjust their conservative mode of reproduction to the various requirements of their habitats and life styles is the theme of this book; the physiology of reproduction and its interplay with ecological conditions are its central subjects.