Eastern mud turtle

Eastern mud turtle
Kinosternon subrubrum
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
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]

• 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

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

• Eastern mud turtle - Kinosternon subrubrum Species account from the Towson University Reptiles of Maryland Web Page.