akirk92's Identifications

Oval-shaped and fairly large; around 1.5 feet. I first saw her in the water, but then she came up on land and crawled towards me. She was FAST! I have a big lake that wraps around my whole neighborhood and it is filled with turtles, birds, alligators, and lots of fish. She appeared to be brown, but her body had a very slight green tint to it. No reproductive structures spotted. Once I got closer, she bolted back into the water. She had a very long neck which accounted for a good portion of her size and his nose was long, thin, and snout-like. Her shell was not round, but rather flat and oval-shaped. Based on research, the females are larger than the males which is why I have been referring to her as a 'she'. Males are around 6-12inches, while females are around 11-24 inches. These critters can be found in lakes, streams, and canals.

Sources: https://srelherp.uga.edu/turtles/apafer.htm

Description: Turtle with flattened rear shell. Mainly dark brown in color on shell and body with a brownish pink color on the bottom of its head and neck. It has a protruding long nose. Long neck which it retracted into shell as approached. About 31 cm long, not including it’s neck when it is outreached and about 20 cm wide. Defining characteristics: This is a deuterostome. It has a long neck, dark brown shell and body, protruding nose indicating that it is a turtle.
Habitat: turtle was found near a river in a forest type habitat.
They typically are found in freshwater bodies of water such as lakes, streams, marshes, and ponds, but can also be found in brackish water. They can be found in Florida, southern Georgia, southeastern South Carolina, and southern Alabama.
References:
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory:
https://srelherp.uga.edu/turtles/apafer.htm
Animal Diversity Web:
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Apalone_ferox/