Obesevation on Lake Maumelle
I made an observation on Lake Maumelle Monday that has me wondering. I was snooping around the bank checking for structure that will be underwater in the Spring and noticed a fish skeleton rotting up on some rocks. As I got nearer I could tell it had been a nice sized catfish. Then I noticed what I thought was a rock but it had a pattern that didn't look right. I got as chose as I could without gagging and counted 9 turtle shells about 4 inches long each scattered around the fish. The shells consisted of the carapace (upper shell) only. The plaston (lower shell) and the body of the turtles was gone. I'm speculating the catfish had been feasting on turtles but had a fatal problem digesting the carapaces. I've not seen this before and have never found a turtle in a fish belly while cleaning fish. Insight or comments welcome.