Kinosternon
Encyclopedia
Kinosternon is a genus
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...

 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 known commonly as mud turtles.

Geographic range

They are found throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, 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...

 and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

, south into South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

 and northern Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

.

Description

They are very similar to the musk turtle
Musk turtle
Musk turtle is the common name given to three genera of aquatic turtles:*Sternotherus, the musk turtles proper,*Staurotypus, variously called Mexican, three-keeled or giant musk turtles, and.*Claudius, the narrow-bridged musk turtle....

s, but generally smaller in size, and their carapace
Carapace
A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...

 is not as highly dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....

d.

Diet

All mud turtles are carnivorous
Carnivore
A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging...

, consuming various aquatic invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...

s, fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate 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...

, and even carrion
Carrion
Carrion refers to the carcass of a dead animal. Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters include vultures, hawks, eagles, hyenas, Virginia Opossum, Tasmanian Devils, coyotes, Komodo dragons, and burying beetles...

.

Species

  • Tabasco mud turtle
    Tabasco Mud Turtle
    The Tabasco mud turtle is a species of turtle in the Kinosternidae family.It is found in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico.-Source:* Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group 1996. . Downloaded on 29 July 2007....

     - Kinosternon acutum Gray
    John Edward Gray
    John Edward Gray, FRS was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray ....

    , 1831
  • Alamos mud turtle - Kinosternon alamosae Berry & Legler, 1980
  • Narrow-bridged mud turtle - Kinosternon angustipons Legler, 1965
  • Arizona mud turtle - Kinosternon arizonense Gilmore, 1923
  • Striped mud turtle
    Striped Mud Turtle
    The striped mud turtle is a species of turtle endemic to the United States.-Geographic range:Striped mud turtle are found in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.-Description:...

     - Kinosternon baurii (Garman, 1891)
  • Jalisco mud turtle - Kinosternon chimalhuaca Berry, Seidel, & Iverson, 1996
  • Creaser's mud turtle
    Creaser's Mud Turtle
    The Creaser's mud turtle is a species of turtle in the Kinosternidae family.It is endemic to Mexico.-Source:* Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group 1996. . Downloaded on 29 July 2007....

     - Kinosternon creaseri Hartweg, 1934
  • Dunn's mud turtle
    Dunn's Mud Turtle
    Dunn's mud turtle or the Colombian mud turtle is a species of turtle in the Kinosternidae family. The epithet or specific name honors Emmett Reid Dunn, an American herpetologist.It is endemic to Colombia.- References :...

     - Kinosternon dunni Schmidt
    Karl Patterson Schmidt
    Karl Patterson Schmidt was an American herpetologist.-Biography:Schmidt was the son of George W. Schmidt and Margaret Patterson Schmidt. Schmidt's father was a German professor who, at the time of Schmidt's birth, was teaching in Lake Forest, Illinois. His family left the city in 1907 and settled...

    , 1947
  • Durango mud turtle - Kinosternon durangoense Iverson, 1979
  • Yellow mud turtle
    Yellow mud turtle
    The yellow mud turtle is a species of mud turtle that can be found in the Central United States.- Description :...

     - Kinosternon flavescens (Agassiz
    Louis Agassiz
    Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a Swiss paleontologist, glaciologist, geologist and a prominent innovator in the study of the Earth's natural history. He grew up in Switzerland and became a professor of natural history at University of Neuchâtel...

    , 1857)
  • Herrara's mud turtle - Kinosternon herrerai Stejneger
    Leonhard Hess Stejneger
    Leonhard Hess Stejneger was a Norwegian-born American ornithologist, herpetologist and zoologist. Stejneger specialized in vertebrate natural history studies. He gained his greatest reputation with reptiles and amphibians....

    , 1925
  • Rough-footed mud turtle - Kinosternon hirtipes (Wagler
    Johann Georg Wagler
    Johann Georg Wagler was a German herpetologist.Wagler was assistant to Johann Baptist von Spix, and became Director of the Zoological Museum at the University of Munich after Spix's death in 1826...

    , 1830))
    • Valley of Mexico mud turtle - Kinosternon hirtipes hirtipes (Wagler
      Johann Georg Wagler
      Johann Georg Wagler was a German herpetologist.Wagler was assistant to Johann Baptist von Spix, and became Director of the Zoological Museum at the University of Munich after Spix's death in 1826...

      , 1830)
    • Lake Chapala mud turtle - Kinosternon hirtipes chapalaense (Iverson, 1981)
    • San Juanico mud turtle - Kinosternon hirtipes magdalense (Iverson, 1981)
    • Viesca mud turtle - Kinosternon hirtipes megacephalum (Extinct) (Iverson, 1981)
    • Mexican plateau mud turtle - Kinosternon hirtipes murrayi (Glass and Hartweg, 1951)
    • Patzcuarco mud turtle - Kinosternon hirtipes tarascense (Inverson, 1981)
  • Mexician mud turtle - Kinosternon integrum (LeConte, 1954)
  • White-lipped mud turtle - Kinosternon leucostomum Duméril
    Auguste Duméril
    Auguste Henri André Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of Herpetology and Ichthyology at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris from 1857. His father André Marie Constant Duméril was also a zoologist...

    , Bibron
    Gabriel Bibron
    Gabriel Bibron was a French zoologist. He was born in Paris. Son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hired to collect vertebrates in Italy and Sicily. He classified a number of reptile species with André Marie Constant...

     & Duméril
    André Marie Constant Duméril
    André Marie Constant Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of anatomy at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle from 1801 to 1812, when he became professor of herpetology and ichthyology...

    , 1851
    • Northern white-lipped mud turtle - Kinosternon leucostomum leucostomum Duméril
      Auguste Duméril
      Auguste Henri André Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of Herpetology and Ichthyology at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris from 1857. His father André Marie Constant Duméril was also a zoologist...

      , Bibron
      Gabriel Bibron
      Gabriel Bibron was a French zoologist. He was born in Paris. Son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hired to collect vertebrates in Italy and Sicily. He classified a number of reptile species with André Marie Constant...

       & Duméril
      André Marie Constant Duméril
      André Marie Constant Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of anatomy at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle from 1801 to 1812, when he became professor of herpetology and ichthyology...

      , 1851
    • Southern white-lipped mud turtle - Kinosternon leucostomum postinguinale (Cope, 1887)
  • Oaxaca mud turtle
    Oaxaca Mud Turtle
    The Oaxaca mud turtle is a species of turtle in the Kinosternidae family.It is endemic to Mexico. Both the common name and the scientific name derive from Oaxaca, a Mexican state.-Source:...

     - Kinosternon oaxacae Berry & Iverson, 1980
  • Scorpion mud turtle - Kinosternon scorpioides (Linnaeus
    Carolus Linnaeus
    Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...

    , 1766)
    • Scorpion mud turtle (subspecies) - Kinosternon scorpioides scorpioides (Linnaeus
      Carolus Linnaeus
      Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...

      , 1766)
    • Central Chipas mud turtle - Kinosternon scorpioides abaxillare (Baur, 1925)
    • White-throated mud turtle - Kinosternon scorpioides albogulare (Duméril and Bibron, 1870)
    • Red-cheeked mud turtle - Kinosternon scorpioides cruentatum (Duméril
      Auguste Duméril
      Auguste Henri André Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of Herpetology and Ichthyology at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris from 1857. His father André Marie Constant Duméril was also a zoologist...

      , Bibron
      Gabriel Bibron
      Gabriel Bibron was a French zoologist. He was born in Paris. Son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hired to collect vertebrates in Italy and Sicily. He classified a number of reptile species with André Marie Constant...

       & Duméril
      André Marie Constant Duméril
      André Marie Constant Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of anatomy at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle from 1801 to 1812, when he became professor of herpetology and ichthyology...

      , 1851)
  • Sonora mud turtle
    Sonora Mud Turtle
    The Sonora mud turtle is a species of turtle in the Kinosternidae family.It is found in Mexico and the United States.-Source:* Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group 1996. . Downloaded on 29 July 2007....

     - Kinosternon sonoriense (Le Conte
    John Eatton Le Conte
    John Eatton Le Conte, Jr. was an American naturalist. He was born near Shrewsbury, New Jersey, the son of John Eatton Le Conte and Jane Sloane Le Conte...

    , 1854)
    • Sonora mud turtle (subspecies) - Kinosternon sonoriense sonoriense (Le Conte
      John Eatton Le Conte
      John Eatton Le Conte, Jr. was an American naturalist. He was born near Shrewsbury, New Jersey, the son of John Eatton Le Conte and Jane Sloane Le Conte...

      , 1854)
    • Sonoyta mud turtle - Kinosternon sonoriense longifemorale (Inverson, 1981)
  • Eastern mud turtle
    Eastern Mud Turtle
    The eastern mud turtle or common mud turtle is a common species of turtle found in the United States.-Appearance:...

     - Kinosternon subrubrum (Bonnaterre
    Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre
    Abbé Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre was a French naturalist who contributed sections on cetaceans, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects to the Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique...

    , 1789)
    • Eastern mud turtle (subspecies) - Kinosternon subrubrum subrubrum (Bonnaterre
      Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre
      Abbé Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre was a French naturalist who contributed sections on cetaceans, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects to the Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique...

      , 1789)
    • Mississippi mud turtle - Kinosternon subrubrum hippocrepis (Bonnaterre
      Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre
      Abbé Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre was a French naturalist who contributed sections on cetaceans, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects to the Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique...

      , 1789)
    • Florida mud turtle - Kinosternon subrubrum steindachneri (Siebenrock,1906)

Previous used species
  • Spurell's mud turtle - Kinosternon spurrelli Boulenger
    George Albert Boulenger
    George Albert Boulenger FRS was a Belgian-British zoologist who identified over 2000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles and amphibians.-Life:...

    , 1913
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