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.

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]

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

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". 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". Vertebrate Zoology 57 (2): 259–260. ISSN 1864-5755. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  3. Indiana Legislative Services Agency (2011), "312 IAC 9-5-4: Endangered species of reptiles and amphibians", Indiana Administrative Code, retrieved 28 Apr 2012.

Further reading

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, January 25, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.