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GREENSBORO — Bone-Crusher.

It’s the kind of name they give to WWE wrestlers and monster trucks. There is talk about torque, but in this case, it’s not the output of an engine, but a set of jaws. This guy can really crush bones.

He’s a 92-year-old alligator snapping turtle and the newest resident of the Natural Science Center of Greensboro. Visitors will get to see him for the first time today .

Alligator snapping turtles share a number of qualities with their namesake, the alligator. Like gators, they have three large ridges with raised plates along the backs of their shells, giving them a prehistoric look. And like alligators, they often lay rock still — right up to the moment their jaws snap together.

Rick Bolling, curator of reptiles and aquatics at the center , has been wanting to acquire an alligator snapping turtle for some time. With the aquarium exhibits moving to the Carolina SciQuarium under construction, the old aquarium space will become an extension of the reptile and amphibian area.

“I have a fascination with some of the larger turtles,” Bolling says, “and in one of the school programs we do, they always come up because they are one of the giants of the reptile world.”

Native to the southern United States, the alligator snapping turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in North America, growing to more than 200 pounds.

Bone-Crusher measures 38 inches from snout to tail, with a shell 23 inches long. He weighs about 97 pounds, but he probably weighed more when he was younger. Born in the wild, he has spent most of his life in captivity, including a stint at a park where he shared a pond with some alligators. He’s got the holes and scars on his shell to prove it.

He comes to the Science Center from the David Traylor Zoo of Emporia, Kansas. And though he may seem old at 92, he could be at the center for a few more decades. The life expectancy of alligator snapp ing turtles is thought to rival that of giant land tortoises at as much as 120 years.

They spend most of their time in the water; the females only come out to lay eggs. They have one distinctive adaptation that sets them apart from other turtles — a pink appendage on the tip of the tongue. Looks a lot like a worm.

The alligator snapping turtle settles to the bottom of a river or lake, opens his mouth and remains motionless — holding his breath — for as long as an hour. And he wiggles that pink tip just enough to lure a fish, a smaller turtle, or even water fowl into going after it.

And then, snap!

Their bite strength is exceeded only by some of the large crocodiles, Bolling says.

“I was feeding him a rat, and when he snapped, it shook the whole place,” Bolling says. “If you could have seen how fast he was!”

Bolling hopes visitors will be able to see just that eventually. Once he’s fully acclimated to his new home, the staff will probably do public feedings.

Bone-Crusher will be housed in the old nurse shark tank, newly painted, furnished with river rocks and cypress logs, and filled with 1,200 gallons of fresh water.

Bolling hopes Bone-Crusher will face outward where visitors can get a good look at the hard, sharp beak and the lure within. And maybe, just maybe, witness an occasional snap.

“I’ve seen him snap twice since he got here,” Bolling says, shaking his head. “It’s something to see.”

Contact Susan Ladd at 373-7006 or susan.ladd@news-record.com