Herrera's mud turtle
Herrera's mud turtle (Kinosternon herrerai) is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to Mexico.
| Herrera's mud turtle | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Cryptodira |
| Family: | Kinosternidae |
| Genus: | Kinosternon |
| Species: | K. herrerai |
| Binomial name | |
| Kinosternon herrerai Stejneger, 1925 | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Etymology
The specific name, herrerai, is in honor of Mexican biologist Alfonso Luis Herrera.[3]
Life history
Based on a 1988 study of a population near Rancho Nuevo in Tamaulipas, Mexico, the males of K. herrerai attain a larger size than females, with a proportionally smaller plastron, and narrower and shallower carapace. Symbionts reported include a balanomorph barnacle, leeches of the genus Phcobdelta, and the filamentous green alga Basichdia. The food items identified indicate an omnivorous diet, with wild figs the major plant component, and several insect orders and millipedes represented. Courtship in K. herrerai agrees in most respects with courtship of other kinosternid species. Sexual maturity in females is apparently attained between 115–130 mm carapace length. Clutch size is estimated to range from 2-4. Several clutches may be laid in a reproductive season.[4]
Geographic range
K. herrerai is found in the Mexican states of Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz.
References
- van Dijk PP, Hammerson G, Lavin P, Mendoza Quijano F (2007). "Kinosternon herrerai". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007: e.T63669A97381307. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63669A12705142.en.{{cite iucn}}: error: |doi= / |page= mismatch (help)
- Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 252. ISSN 1864-5755. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
- 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 herrerai, p. 122).
- Carr, John; Mast, Roderic (1988). "Natural History Observations of Kinosternon herrerai (Testudines: Kinosternidae)" (PDF). Trianea: Acta Cientifica y Tecnologica Inderena. 1: 87–97 – via University of Louisiana Monroe.
Further reading
- Stejneger, L. (1925). "New species and subspecies of American turtles". Journal of the Washington Academy of Science. 15: 462–463. (Kinosternon herrerai, new species, p. 462).