Eastern mud turtle

Eastern mud turtle
Kinosternon subrubrum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Family: Kinosternidae
Genus: Kinosternon
Species: K. subrubum
Binomial name
Kinosternon subrubrum[1]
(Bonnaterre, 1789)[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

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.

Diet

K. subrubrum feeds mainly on insects and small fish.

Reproduction

Mating occurs in K. subrubrum during early spring followed by egg laying in May to early June.[3] Clutch sizes vary from 2 to 5.

Threats

Raccoons are known to eat this species' eggs, while herons and alligators often hunt the adults. This species is also exploited bythe 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.[4]

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized as being valid.[1][5]

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Kinosternon.

Etymology

The subspecific name, steindachneri, is in honor of Austrian herpetologist Franz Steindachner.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Iverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley (2010-12-14). "Turtles of the world, 2010 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status" (PDF). Chelonian Research Monographs. 5: 000.98. doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v3.2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-15.
  2. ↑ Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 259–260. ISSN 1864-5755. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  3. ↑ Gibbons, J. Whitfield (1983). "Reproductive Characteristics and Ecology of the Mud Turtle, Kinosternon subrubrum (Lacepede)". Herpetologica. 39 (3): 254–271.
  4. ↑ Indiana Legislative Services Agency (2011), "312 IAC 9-5-4: Endangered species of reptiles and amphibians", Indiana Administrative Code, retrieved 28 Apr 2012.
  5. ↑ "Kinosternon subrubrum ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  6. ↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Kinosternon subrubrum steindachneri, p. 252).

Further reading

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.