Loggerhead musk turtle

Loggerhead musk turtle
hatchling loggerhead musk turtle
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Family: Kinosternidae
Genus: Sternotherus
Species: S. minor
Binomial name
Sternotherus minor
(Agassiz, 1857)
Synonyms[1]
Sternotherus minor minor
  • Goniochelys minor
    Agassiz, 1857
  • Aromochelys minor
    Strauch, 1862
  • Sternotherus minor
    Stejneger, 1923
  • Sternotherus carinatus minor
    Carr, 1952
  • Sternotherus minor minor
    Tinkle & Webb, 1955
  • Sternothaerus minor minor
    — Tinkle, 1958
  • Sternotheraerus minor minor
    — Wharton & Howard, 1971
  • Kinosternon minor
    — Iverson, Ernst, Gotte & Lovich, 1989
  • Kinosternon minor minor
    — Ernst & R. Barbour, 1989
Sternotherus minor peltifer
  • Sternotherus peltifer
    H.M. Smith & Glass, 1947
  • Sternotherus carinatus peltifer
    — Carr, 1952
  • Sternotherus minor peltifer
    — Tinkle & Webb, 1955
  • Sternothaerus minor peltifer
    — Tinkle, 1958
  • Kinosternon minor peltifer
    — Ernst & R. Barbour, 1989

The loggerhead musk turtle (Sternotherus minor ) is a species of turtle native to the United States.

Geographic distribution

The loggerhead musk turtle can be found in the states of Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee.

Description

detail of head

The loggerhead musk turtle gets its common name from its unusually large head, compared to the common musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus). Adults can be 8–13 cm (3–5 inches) in carapace length. Barbels are present on the chin only, not on the throat.[2]

Habitat

Sternotherus minor lives in clean freshwater habitats.

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies.

Sternotherus minor minor (Agassiz, 1857)
Sternotherus minor peltifer H.M. Smith & Glass, 1947[3]

References

  1. Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology 57 (2): 262–263. ISSN 1864-5755. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  2. Conant R. 1975. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 429 pp. ISBN 0-395-19977-8. (Sternotherus minor, p. 42 + Plates 4,5 + Map 8).
  3. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading

External links

Media related to Sternotherus minor at Wikimedia Commons.
Data related to Sternotherus minor at Wikispecies.

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