Its has a spiked shell, powerful beaklike jaws, and thick scaled tail, often referred to as the "dinosaur of the turtle world."
Alligator snapping turtles can live to be 50 to 100 years old. Males average 26 inches (66 centimeters) in shell length and weigh about 175 pounds (80 kilograms),  it has been record to exceed 220 pounds (100 kilograms). The much smaller females top out at around 50 pounds (23 kilograms).
The alligator snapping turtles apply 's a unique natural lure in its hunting technique.  Its tongue is bright-red and worm-shaped piece of flesh that, when the turtle is sitting motionless on the bottom of a river, it draws curious fish or frogs close enough to be snatched.