The Mexican box turtle (''Terrapene mexicana'') is a
species of
box turtle belonging to the family
Emydidae
Emydidae (Latin ''emys'' (freshwater tortoise) + Ancient Greek εἶδος (''eîdos'', “appearance, resemblance”)) is a family of testudines (turtles) that includes close to 50 species in 10 genera. Members of this family are commonly calle ...
. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of ''
Terrapene carolina
The common box turtle (''Terrapene carolina'') is a species of box turtle with six existing subspecies. It is found throughout the Eastern United States and Mexico. The box turtle has a distinctive hinged lowered shell (the box) that allows it ...
'' (''Terrapene carolina mexicana'').
[
]
Geographic range
This species is endemic to Mexico. It is found in the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz and San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...
.[iNaturalist]
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Habitat
It lives in areas with tropical climates within humid forests at shallow rainwater puddles.[Herpetomania]
/ref>
Description
''Terrapene mexicana'' can reach a length of about .[ The carapace is long and dome-shaped, with rather variable color and markings. The adult males show gray-blue nuances on the head and red or orange nuances on the front legs.][
]
Biology
The Mexican box turtle does not have much information on them because very few of them are domesticated (kept as pets). However, we do know that they have a lifespan of 100 years. Usually these turtles have water nearby homes and a bush to hide. Having a home by the water will attract insects, which are a big part of their diet.
Gallery
Image: Emydidae - Terrapene mexicana (Mexican Box Turtle) (2).jpg, ''Terrapene mexicana'' at the Zoo Atlanta
Image:Terrapene carolina mexicana.jpg, A Mexican box turtle on display in Gothenburg Natural History Museum
Image: CistudoMexicanaFord.jpg, Illustration from ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' 1848-1849
File:Terrapene mexicana, Mexican Box Turtle, Tamaulipas.jpg, Mexican box turtle (''Terrapene mexicana'') in the field in southern Tamaulipas, Mexico
;Bibliography
*Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Inverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Roger, Bour (2011-12-31). "Turtles of the world, 2011 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status". ''Chelonian Research Monographs''. 5.
*Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". ''Vertebrate Zoology''. 57
*Dodd, C. Kenneth. ''North American Box Turtles a Natural History''. University of Oklahoma Press, 2002.
*Milstead, William W., and Donald W. Tinkle. "Terrapene of Western Mexico, with Comments on the Species Groups in the Genus". ''Copeia'', vol. 1967, no. 1, 1967, p. 180.,
*Stone, Lynn M. ''Nature Watch: Box Turtles''. Lynn M. Stone, 2007.
References
External links
Box Turtles
Terrapene
Reptiles described in 1849
Taxa named by John Edward Gray
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