Luring in the Neonate Alligator Snapping Turtle ( Macroclemys temminckii ): Description and Experimental Analysis

Observations were made on the feeding behavior of 8 newborn Macroclemys temminckii , a species known to lure fish prey with a vermiform appendage situated on the floor of the oral cavity. Each turtle was observed on 3 occasions, including its first feeding experience, over a 7‐week period. 4 phases of predation on live fish are described: waiting, luring, attack, and prey‐handling. Experiments involving 14 ingestively naive turtles from a second litter investigated the role of visual, chemical, and mechanical cues in eliciting the luring and attack responses.