The white-lipped mud turtle (''Kinosternon leucostomum'') is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
mud turtle in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Kinosternidae
The Kinosternidae are a family of mostly small turtles that includes the mud turtles and musk turtles. The family contains 25 species within four genera, but taxonomic reclassification is an ongoing process, so many sources vary on the exact num ...
. The species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
and northwestern
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
.
Geographic range
''Kinosternon leucostomum'' is found in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
,
Costa Rica,
Guatemala,
Honduras,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
,
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
,
Colombia,
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
, and
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
.
Subspecies
*Northern white-lipped mud turtle – ''K. l. leucostomum''
*Southern white-lipped mud turtle – ''K. l. postinguinale''
''
Nota bene
(, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well".
It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature
and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...
'': A
trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the
subspecies was originally described in a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
other than ''Kinosternon''.
Etymology
The synonym, ''Cinosternon spurrelli'' , which is a synonym of ''Kinosternon leucostomum postinguinale'', was named in honor of British zoologist
Herbert George Flaxman Spurrell.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Kinosternon spurrelli'', p. 250).]
References
Further reading
*
Boulenger GA (1889). ''Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhynchocephalians, and Crocodiles in the British Museum (Natural History). New Edition.'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). x + 311 pp. + Plates I-III. (''Cinosternon leucostomum'', pp. 42–43).
*
Duméril AMC,
Bibron G (1851). "''Cinosternon leucostomum'' ". ''In'': Duméril AMC,
Duméril A[HA">Auguste Duméril, Duméril A[HA(1851). ''Catalogue Methodique de la Collection des Reptiles''. Paris: Museum d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris / Gide & Baudry. 224 pp. (''Cinosternon leucostomum'', new species, p. 17). (in French).
.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q604836
Kinosternon
Turtles of North America
Turtles of South America
Reptiles of Mexico
Reptiles of Central America
Reptiles of Belize
Reptiles of Costa Rica
Reptiles of Guatemala
Reptiles of Honduras
Reptiles of Nicaragua
Reptiles of Panama
Reptiles of Colombia
Reptiles of Ecuador
Reptiles of Peru
Reptiles described in 1851
Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril
Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron