Mud turtles

Mud turtles
Common Musk Turtle ( Sternotherus odoratus )
Systematics
without rank: Amniotes (Amniota) without rank: Sauropsida Order : Turtles (Testudinata) Subordination : Halsberger tortoises (Cryptodira) Superfamily : Mud and Tabasco turtles (Kinosternoidea) Family : Mud turtles
Scientific name
Kinosternidae
Agassiz , 1857

Mud turtles (Kinosternidae) are small and medium-sized, mostly freshwater turtles. There are 27 species from 4 genera in the two subfamilies Staurotypinae and Kinosterninae.

Appearance

Some species (genus Sternotherus and subfamily Staurotypinae) have a receding belly armor ( plastron ) and a number of small shields between the back and belly armor. The folding breast turtles ( Kinosternon ) can fold up the front and back of the belly shell and thus close it. The top of the shell is usually smooth and flat, with some species also provided with one to three longitudinal keels. The skin on the head and legs is soft and not very ossified. They wear webbed toes. There are 2–8 barbels on the chin. The animals are 12 to 40 centimeters long. The head of the Central American great-headed mud turtle ( Claudius angustatus ) is so large that it can no longer be retracted into its shell.

distribution

The subfamily Kinosterninae lives in eastern North America , in Central America and in northern South America to the Amazon . The subfamily Staurotypinae occurs in Central America, in rivers that flow into the Pacific , on the Gulf of Mexico and on Caribbean islands.

Way of life

Mud turtles live on the bottom of stagnant or slowly flowing water and tend to move continuously over the bottom. Like all aquatic turtles, they are also able to move about by swimming. The big head mud turtle lives more terrestrially . Mud turtles are omnivores that prefer to feed on insects, mollusks and crustaceans; but also aquatic plants, carrion and fruit that has fallen into the water are on the menu.

Multiplication

Mud turtles lay few eggs, mostly in rotting plants or decaying wood.

Systematics

Red-headed folding turtle or red-cheeked folding turtle ( Kinosternon cruentatum ), young animal

Common folding turtle ( Kinosternon subrubrum )

Roof Musk Turtle ( Sternotherus carinatus )

Salvin's cross- breasted turtle ( Staurotype salvinii )

• Mud turtles (Kinosternidae Agassiz, 1857)
  • Subfamily real mud turtles (Kinosterninae Agassiz, 1857)
    • Genus folding turtles ( Kinosternon Spix, 1824)
      • Pointed-snouted folding turtle ( Kinosternon acutum Gray, 1831)
      • Alamos folding turtle ( Kinosternon alamosae Berry & Legler, 1980)
      • Costa Rican folding turtle ( Kinosternon angustipons Legler, 1965)
      • Three-lined folding turtle ( Kinosternon baurii (Garman, 1891))
      • Jalisco folding turtle ( Kinosternon chimalhuaca Berry, Seidel & Iverson, 1997)
      • Creaser's folding turtle ( Kinosternon creaseri Hartweg, 1934)
      • Red-cheeked folding turtle ( Kinosternon cruentatum Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1851) (species status unclear, is also seen as a subspecies of Kinosternon scorpioides )
      • Dunn's folding turtle ( Kinosternon dunni Schmidt, 1947)
      • Durango folding turtle ( Kinosternon durangoense Iverson, 1979)
      • Yellowish folding turtle ( Kinosternon flavescens (Agassiz, 1857))
      • Herreras folding turtle ( Kinosternon herrerai Stejneger, 1925)
      • Rough-footed folding turtle ( Kinosternon hirtipes (Wagler, 1830))
      • Mexican folding turtle ( Kinosternon integrum Le Conte, 1854)
      • White-mouthed folding turtle ( Kinosternon leucostomum (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1851))
      • Oaxacan folding turtle ( Kinosternon oaxacae Berry & Iverson, 1980)
      • Scorpion folding turtle ( Kinosternon scorpioides (Linnaeus, 1766))
      • Sonoran folding turtle ( Kinosternon sonoriense Le Conte, 1854)
      • Spurrell's folding turtle ( Kinosternon spurrelli (Boulenger, 1913)) (status unclear)
      • Common folding turtle ( Kinosternon subrubrum Bonnaterre, 1789)
      • Kinosternon vogti Marco López-Luna in López-Luna et al. (2018)
    • Genus musk turtles ( Sternotherus Bell in Gray 1825)
      • Roof musk turtle ( Sternotherus carinatus (Gray, 1855))
      • Flat Musk Turtle ( Sternotherus depressus Tinkle & Webb, 1955)
      • Lesser musk turtle ( Sternotherus minor (Agassiz, 1857))
      • Common musk turtle ( Sternotherus odoratus (Latreille, 1802))
  • Subfamily cross- breasted turtles (Staurotypinae Gray, 1869)
    • Genus Claudius Cope, 1865
      • Great-headed mud turtle ( Claudius angustatus Cope, 1865)
    • Genus Real cross- breasted turtles ( Staurotype Wagler, 1830)
      • Salvin's cross- breasted turtle ( Staurotype salvinii Gray, 1864)
      • Great cross- breasted turtle ( Staurotype triporcatus (Wiegmann, 1828))

Web links

Commons : Mud turtles (Kinosternidae)  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

• Kinosternidae in The Reptile Database

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Schilde, Maik: Mud turtles. Kinosternon, Sternotherus, Claudius and Staurotype . Natur und Tier Verlag, Münster 2001, ISBN 3-931587-59-2 .