The effects of water availability during incubation on the water contents of neonatal snapping turtles at hatching were examined, along with the influence of hatchling water content on desiccation tolerance and terrestrial locomotor performance. The water contents of hatchlings from eggs incubated on wet substrates were both absolutely and proportionally greater than were those of hatchlings fr...

The segmental plate mesoderm of snapping turtle embryos (Chelydra serpentina) was examined with stereoscanning electron microscopy imaging. A metameric pattern was detected along the entire length of the segmental plates. This pattern consisted of a tandem sequence of mesodermal units, called somitomeres. Each somitomere was oval to cubic in shape and the processes of the constituent mesodermal...