Kinosterninae
Encyclopedia
Kinosterninae is a subfamily of the Kinosternidae
family
of aquatic turtle
s which contains the genera
Kinosternon
and Sternotherus
, which are native to much of the United States
and northern Mexico
.
Kinosternidae
Kinosternidae is a family of mostly small turtles that includes the mud turtles and musk turtles. The family Kinosternidae contains 25 species within 4 genera, but taxonomic reclassification is an ongoing process so many sources vary on the exact numbers of species and subspecies...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of aquatic turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
s which contains the genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Kinosternon
Kinosternon
Kinosternon is a genus of aquatic turtles known commonly as mud turtles.-Geographic range:They are found throughout the United States, Mexico and Central America, south into South America in Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru.-Description:...
and Sternotherus
Sternotherus
Sternotherus is a genus of aquatic turtles known commonly as musk turtles.-Description:They are very similar to the American mud turtles, but tend to have a more domed carapace, with a distinctive keel down the center of it...
, which are native to much of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.