| Striped mud turtle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Wild striped mud turtle from Florida | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Cryptodira |
| Family: | Kinosternidae |
| Genus: | Kinosternon |
| Species: | K. baurii |
| Binomial name | |
| Kinosternon baurii | |
| Synonyms [3] | |
The striped mud turtle (Kinosternon baurii) is a species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is native to the southeastern United States.
The specific name, baurii, is in honor of herpetologist Georg Baur. [4] [5]
The striped mud turtle is found in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia. [2]
K. baurii has three light-colored stripes along the length of the smooth carapace. It can grow to a straight carapace length of 8–12 cm (3-4¾ inches).
K. baurii is a common species found in freshwater habitats. It wanders about on land more than any other of the mud turtles and can sometimes be observed foraging for food in cow dung.
The striped mud turtle is omnivorous. It eats insects, snails, fish, carrion, algae, and plants. The striped mud turtle also eats dried up krill.
As a pet K. baurii is easy to care for, readily eating commercial turtle foods, feeder fish, and worms. Kept communally, they may exhibit aggressive behavior towards each other, most likely males are more inclined to fight than females.
Adult females of K. baurii nest from September to June. The eggs, which are slightly over 2.5 cm (1 in) long, hatch 13 to 19 weeks later. The hatchlings are about 2.5 cm (1 inch) in straight carapace length and, unlike the adult turtles, have keeled carapaces.
The Kinosternidae are a family of mostly small turtles that includes the mud turtles and musk turtles. The family contains 25 species within four genera, but taxonomic reclassification is an ongoing process, so many sources vary on the exact numbers of species and subspecies. They inhabit slow-moving bodies of water, often with soft, muddy bottoms and abundant vegetation.
The Blanding's turtle is a semi-aquatic turtle of the family Emydidae. This species is native to central and eastern parts of Canada and the United States. It is considered to be an endangered species throughout much of its range. The Blanding's turtle is of interest in longevity research, as it shows few or no common signs of aging and is physically active and capable of reproduction into eight or nine decades of life.
Georg Baur (1859–1898) was a German vertebrate paleontologist and Neo-Lamarckian who studied reptiles of the Galapagos Islands, particularly the Galápagos tortoises, in the 1890s. He is perhaps best known for his subsidence theory of the origin of the Galapagos Islands, where he postulated the islands were the remains of a former landmass, connected to South America via Cocos Island.
Kinosternon is a genus of small aquatic turtles from the Americas known commonly as mud turtles.
The razor-backed musk turtle is a species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is native to the southern United States. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.
The Gulf Coast spiny softshell turtle, a subspecies in the Trionychidae family of softshell turtles, is endemic to the south-eastern United States.
The Big Bend slider, also called commonly the Mexican Plateau slider and la jicotea de la meseta mexicana in Mexican Spanish, is a species of aquatic turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is native to the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
Pelusios is a genus of African side-necked turtles. With 17 described species, it is one of the most diverse genera of the turtle order (Testudines).
The yellow mud turtle, also commonly known as the yellow-necked mud turtle, is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to the Central United States and Mexico.
The Malayan softshell turtle is a species of softshell turtle in the family Trionychidae. It is monotypic in its genus.
The Chaco side-necked turtle or Chaco sideneck turtle is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. It is found in Argentina, Paraguay, and possibly Bolivia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. The turtle possesses long horny spurs on its upper thighs. It is 18 cm in shell length. Like other members of its genus, the turtle buries itself in the mud when the streams run dry, a behaviour possibly parallel to the winter hibernating behaviours of turtles further north.
Cagle's map turtle is a species of turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to Texas, where it is native to the Guadalupe, San Antonio, and San Marcos Rivers.
The ringed map turtle or ringed sawback is a species of turtle in the family Emydidae endemic to the southern United States.
Dunn's mud turtle, also known commonly as the Colombian mud turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae.
The flattened musk turtle is a critically endangered species of freshwater turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to the southern United States.
The eastern mud turtle or common mud turtle is a common species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to the United States. There are two recognized subspecies.
The Florida mud turtle is a species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to the state of Florida in the United States.
The Alamos mud turtle is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae. It is endemic to Mexico, where it occurs in the states of Sinaloa and Sonora.
The Arizona mud turtle is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae found in the deserts of Arizona and Sonora (Mexico). It is a semi-aquatic turtle. It lives in impermanent puddles, and avoids permanent rivers and lakes.
Adanson's mud turtle is a species of turtle in the family Pelomedusidae. The species is endemic to north-central Africa.
