''Kinosternon'' is 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 ...
of small aquatic
turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...
s from the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
known commonly as mud turtles.
Geographic range
They are found in the United States,
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 ...
,
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 South America. The greatest
species richness
Species richness is the number of different species represented in an ecological community, landscape or region. Species richness is simply a count of species, and it does not take into account the abundances of the species or their relative ab ...
is in Mexico, and only three species (''
K. dunni'', ''
K. leucostomum'', and ''
K. scorpioides'') are found in South America.
Description
They are very similar to the
musk turtles, but generally smaller in size, and their
carapaces are not as highly
domed.
Diet
All mud turtles are
carnivorous, consuming various aquatic
invertebrate
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
s,
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...
, and even
carrion.
Species
Extant
*
Central Chiapas mud turtle - ''K. abaxillare''
(Baur, 1925)
*
Tabasco mud turtle
The Tabasco mud turtle (''Kinosternon acutum''), commonly known as pochitoque in Tabasco, Mexico, is a small turtle which belongs to the family Kinosternidae. It can be found in central Veracruz, Tabasco, northern Guatemala and Belize. This turt ...
- ''K. acutum''
Gray
Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...
, 1831
*
Alamos mud turtle
The Alamos mud turtle (''Kinosternon alamosae'') is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae. It is endemic to Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of Nort ...
- ''K. alamosae''
Berry & Legler, 1980
*
Central American mud turtle
The Central American mud turtle (''Kinosternon angustipons''), also known as the narrow-bridged mud turtle, is a species of mud turtle in the Kinosternidae family endemic to Central America. It can be found in the following countries: Costa Ric ...
- ''K. angustipons''
Legler, 1965
*
Striped mud turtle - ''K. baurii''
(Garman Garman is a surname or first name. Notable people with the name include:
Sports
* Ann Garman, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
* Judi Garman (born 1954), American softball coach
* Mike Garman (born 1949), American baseball pla ...
, 1891)
*
Jalisco mud turtle - ''K. chimalhuaca''
Berry, Seidel, & Iverson, 1996
*
Cora mud turtle
The Cora mud turtle (''Kinosternon cora'') is a species of mud turtle endemic to western Mexico. Description
The Cora mud turtle is a sister species of the Vallarta mud turtle (''Kinosternon vogti''), with which it shares most morphological cha ...
- ''K. cora''
Loc-Barragán ''et al''., 2020
*
Creaser's mud turtle
Creaser's mud turtle (''Kinosternon creaseri'') is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to the Yucatán Peninsula in southeastern Mexico.
Geographic range
''K. creaseri'' is found in the Mexican states of C ...
- ''K. creaseri''
Hartweg, 1934
*
Dunn's mud turtle
Dunn's mud turtle (''Kinosternon dunni''), also known commonly as the Colombian mud turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae.
Etymology
The epithet or specific name, ''dunni'', honors Emmett Reid Dunn, an American herpetolog ...
- ''K. dunni''
Schmidt
Schmidt may refer to:
* Schmidt (surname), including list of people with the surname
* Schmidt (singer) (born 1990), German pop and jazz singer
* Schmidt (lunar crater), a small lunar impact crater
* Schmidt (Martian crater), a List of craters on ...
, 1947
*
Durango mud turtle
The Durango mud turtle (''Kinosternon durangoense'') is a species of mud turtle in the Kinosternidae
The Kinosternidae are a family of mostly small turtles that includes the mud turtles and musk turtles. The family contains 25 species within ...
- ''K. durangoense''
Iverson, 1979
*
Yellow mud turtle
The yellow mud turtle (''Kinosternon flavescens''), also commonly known as the yellow-necked mud turtle, is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to the Central United States and Mexico.
Distribution
*North ...
- ''K. flavescens''
( Agassiz, 1857)
*
Herrera's mud turtle - ''K. herrerai''
Stejneger, 1925
*
Rough-footed mud turtle
The rough-footed mud turtle (''Kinosternon hirtipes'') is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
Geographic range
''K. hirtipes'' is found in the Unite ...
- ''K. hirtipes''
( Wagler, 1830)
**Valley of Mexico mud turtle - ''K. h. hirtipes''
(Wagler, 1830)
**Lake Chapala mud turtle - ''K. h. chapalaense''
Iverson, 1981
**San Juanico mud turtle - ''K. h. magdalense''
Iverson, 1981
**Viesca mud turtle - ''K. h. megacephalum''
Iverson, 1981 (extinct)
**Mexican plateau mud turtle - ''K. h. murrayi''
Glass and Hartweg, 1951
**Patzcuarco mud turtle - ''K. h. tarascense''
Iverson, 1981
*
Mexican mud turtle - ''K. integrum''
(LeConte, 1954)
*
White-lipped mud turtle
The white-lipped mud turtle (''Kinosternon leucostomum'') is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to Central America and northwestern South America.
Geographic range
''Kinosternon leucostomum'' is found in ...
- ''K. leucostomum''
A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1851
**Northern white-lipped mud turtle - ''K. l. leucostomum''
A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1851
**Southern white-lipped mud turtle - ''K. l. postinguinale''
(Cope, 1887)
*
Oaxaca mud turtle - ''K. oaxacae''
Berry & Iverson, 1980
*
Scorpion mud turtle
The scorpion mud turtle or Tabasco mud turtle (''Kinosternon scorpioides'') is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae. It is found in Mexico, Central and South America. It is a medium to large kinosternid (mud turtle) with a domed, ...
- ''K. scorpioides''
(Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, 1766)
**Scorpion mud turtle (subspecies) - ''K. s. scorpioides''
(Linnaeus, 1766)
**White-throated mud turtle - ''K. s. albogulare''
(A.H.A. Duméril and Bocourt, 1870)
**Red-cheeked mud turtle - ''K. s. cruentatum''
(A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1851)
*
Sonora mud turtle - ''K. sonoriense''
( Le Conte, 1854)
**Sonora mud turtle (subspecies) - ''K. s. sonoriense''
(Le Conte, 1854)
**Sonoyta mud turtle - ''K. s. longifemorale''
(Iverson, 1981)
*
Florida mud turtle - ''K. steindachneri''
( Siebenrock, 1906)
*
Arizona mud turtle - ''K.'' ''stejnegeri''
Gilmore, 1923''
''
*
Eastern mud turtle - ''K. subrubrum''
( Bonnaterre, 1789)
**Eastern mud turtle (subspecies) - ''K. s. subrubrum''
(Bonnaterre, 1789)
**Mississippi mud turtle - ''K. s. hippocrepis''
(Bonnaterre, 1789)
*
Vallarta mud turtle - ''K. vogti''
López-Luna ''et al''., 2018
Extinct
†''
Kinosternon arizonense''
Gilmore, 1923 (known from
Plio-Pleistocene
The Plio-Pleistocene is an informally described geological pseudo-period, which begins about 5 million years ago (Mya) and, drawing forward, combines the time ranges of the formally defined Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs—marking from about 5&nb ...
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
remains, formerly considered
conspecific
Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species.
Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organis ...
with ''K. stejnegeri'')''
''
References
;Bibliography
*
{{Taxonbar , from=Q2500468
Turtle genera
Taxa named by Johann Baptist von Spix