Eastern mud turtle

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Eastern mud turtle
Kinosternon subrubrum.jpg
Kinosternon subrubrum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Subphylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
K. subrubum
Binomial name
Kinosternon subrubrum[1]
Synonyms[2]
Kinosternon subrubrum subrubrum
  • Testudo subrubra Lacépède, 1788 (nomen suppressum)
  • Testudo subrubra
    Bonnaterre, 1789
  • Testudo pensilvanica
    Gmelin, 1789
  • Emydes pensilvancia
    Brongniart, 1805 (ex errore)
  • Emys pensylvanica
    Schweigger, 1812
  • Terrapene boscii Merrem, 1820
  • Terrapene pensylvanica
    — Merrem, 1820
  • Cistuda pensylvanica
    Say, 1825
  • Sternotherus pensylvanica
    Gray, 1825
  • Kinosternon pennsylvanicum Bell, 1825 (ex errore)
  • Sternothaerus boscii
    — Bell, 1825
  • Kinosternum pensylvanicum
    Bonaparte, 1830
  • Cinosternon pensylvanicum
    Wagler, 1830
  • Emys (Kinosternon) pennsylvanica — Gray, 1831
  • Clemmys (Cinosternon) pensylvanica Fitzinger, 1835
  • Kinosternon pensylvanicum
    De Kay, 1842
  • Kinosternon (Kinosternon) doubledayii Gray, 1844
  • Kinosternon (Kinosternon) oblongum Gray, 1844
  • Kinosternum doubledayii
    LeConte, 1854
  • Kinosternum pennsylvanicum — LeConte, 1854
  • Kinosternon punctatum
    Gray, 1856
  • Cinosternon pennsylvanicum Agassiz, 1857
  • Cinosternum doubledayii
    — Agassiz, 1857
  • Cinosternum oblongum
    Agassiz, 1857
  • Cinosternum pennsylvanicum — Agassiz, 1857
  • Cistudo pennsylvanica
    — Agassiz, 1857
  • Terrapene pennsylvanica
    — Agassiz, 1857
  • Thyrosternum pennsylvanicum — Agassiz, 1857
  • Cinosternum doubledayi Agassiz, 1857 (ex errore)
  • Cinosternum punctatum
    — Agassiz, 1857
  • Cinosternon doubledayii
    Strauch, 1865
  • Swanka fasciata Gray, 1869
  • Cinosternum pensylvanicum Boulenger, 1889
  • Kinosternon pensilvanicum Lönnberg, 1894 (ex errore)
  • Cinosternonus pensylvanicum — Herrera, 1899
  • Cinosternum pensilvanicum
    Siebenrock, 1907
  • Cinosternum pensilvanium Siebenrock, 1909 (ex errore)
  • Testudo pensilvanica
    — Siebenrock, 1909
  • Kinosternon subrubrum subrubrum
    Stejneger & Barbour, 1917
  • Kinonsternon subrubrum
    Liner, 1954
  • Kinosternum subrubrum
    Schwartz, 1961
  • Kinosternon subrum
    Richard, 1999 (ex errore)
Kinosternon subrubrum hippocrepis
  • Kinosternon hippocrepis
    Gray, 1856
  • Cinosternum hippocrepis
    — Agassiz, 1857
  • Cinosternon hippocrepis
    — Strauch, 1865
  • Kinosternon louisianae
    Baur, 1893
  • Cinosternum louisianae
    Ditmars, 1907
  • Kinosternon subrubrum hippocrepis
    — Stejneger & Barbour, 1917

Lua error in Module:Taxonbar/candidate at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

The eastern mud turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum) or common mud turtle[1] is a common species of turtle endemic to the United States.

Description

The eastern mud turtle is a small and often hard to identify species. It measures 3–4 in (7.6–10.2 cm) in carapace length. The carapace is keelless, lacks any pattern, and varies in color from yellowish to black. The plastron is large and double hinged, and can be yellowish to brown, and may sometimes have a dark pattern. The chin and throat are a yellowish grey, streaked and mottled with brown, while the limbs and tail are grayish. The eye, or iris, of the eastern mud turtle is yellow with dark clouding, and its feet are webbed.

Habitat

Eastern mud turtles live in ponds and other freshwater habitats.

Diet

K. subrubrum feeds mainly on insects and small fish.

Threats

Raccoons are known to eat this species' eggs, while herons and alligators often hunt the adults. This species is also exploited to the pet trade

Geographic range

Eastern mud turtles are found in the US states of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.[1]

In Indiana, the eastern mud turtle is listed as an endangered species.[3]

Subspecies[1]

  • K. s. subrubrum (nominate subspecies) - eastern mud turtle
  • K. s. hippocrepis - Mississippi mud turtle

The Florida mud turtle (Kinosternon steindachneri ) is no longer recognized as a subspecies of K.subrubrum

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found..

Further reading

  • Behler JL, King FW. 1979. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Knopf. 742 pp. ISBN 0-394-50824-6. (Kinosternon subrubrum, pp. 441-442 + Plates 318, 320, 321).
  • Bonnaterre PJ. 1789. Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique des trois règnes de la nature, Erpétologie. Paris: Panckoucke. xxviii + 71 pp. + 66 plates. (Testudo subrubra, new species, pp. 27-28 + [turtles] Plate 5, figure 1). (in French and Latin).
  • Boulenger GA. 1889. Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhynchocephalians, and Crodcodiles 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 pensylvanicum, pp. 39-40).
  • Conant R. 1975. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. xviii + 429 pp. + Plates 1-48. ISBN 0-395-19979-4 (hardcover), ISBN 0-395-19977-8 (paperback). (Kinosternon subrubrum subrubrum, p. 43 + Plates 4, 5 + Map 13).
  • Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR. 1978. Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman. xi + 378 pp. ISBN 0-7167-0020-4. (Kinosternon s. subrubrum, detailed description of nesting, p. 264).
  • Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr. 1982. Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. ISBN 0-307-13666-3. (Kinosternon subrubrum, pp. 26-27).
  • Stejneger L, Barbour T. 1917. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 125 pp. (Kinosternon subrubrum subrubrum, p. 112).
  • Zim HS, Smith HM. 1956. Reptiles and Amphibians: A Guide to Familiar American Species: A Golden Nature Guide. New York: Simon and Schuster. 160 pp. (Kinosternon subrubrum subrubrum, pp. 19, 23, 155).

External links