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Stinkpot

Sternotherus odoratus · Turtles · Reptiles

Stinkpot (Sternotherus odoratus): Small turtle, adults 100-127 mm; narrow, elongated brown domed carapace with black streaks or spots, often algae-covered. Two light (pale yellow) stripes on each side of the head, one above and one below the eye, distinguish it from other Sternotherus. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Sternotherus odoratus
Family
Kinosternidae
In North America
Native
Range
Eastern and central United States from southern Maine, Michigan and Wisconsin to Florida and east Texas (absent from higher elevations); in Canada southern Ontario and Quebec (NatureServe rank N3; federally Special Concern).
Biology

How to identify it

Small turtle, adults 100-127 mm; narrow, elongated brown domed carapace with black streaks or spots, often algae-covered. [1][2]

Two light (pale yellow) stripes on each side of the head, one above and one below the eye, distinguish it from other Sternotherus. [1][2]

Elongated pointed snout with barbels on the chin and neck; small yellow plastron with a single non-functional hinge and skin showing between the plastral scutes. [1][2]

Males have larger heads and longer tails than females. [1][2]

Compared with the striped mud turtle: Mud turtles have two plastral hinges and unkeeled carapaces, and lack skin visible between plastral scutes (Animal Diversity Web). [1][2]

Compared with the eastern mud turtle: Two hinges on the plastron and a never-keeled carapace; stinkpots show skin between plastron scutes (Animal Diversity Web). [1][2]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a stinkpot before you act. Compared with the striped mud turtle: Mud turtles have two plastral hinges and unkeeled carapaces, and lack skin visible between plastral scutes (Animal Diversity Web).[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Virtually any permanent freshwater with slow current and soft bottom and plenty of aquatic plants: ponds, lakes, impoundments, streams, rivers and swamps. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Mostly aquatic and crepuscular (more nocturnal in the south); bottom walker that basks on branches up to 2 m above the water and may drop into passing boats. [1][2]

Brumates buried about 30 cm in mud when water is below about 10 C; active April-October in the north. [1][2]

Threatened animals release a foul-smelling orange musk from glands under the shell. [1][2]

Omnivorous: algae, seeds, insects, mollusks, crayfish, carrion and fish. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Eastern and central United States from southern Maine, Michigan and Wisconsin to Florida and east Texas (absent from higher elevations); in Canada southern Ontario and Quebec (NatureServe rank N3; federally Special Concern).

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology