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Rough-footed mud turtle facts for kids

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Rough-footed mud turtle
Lake Chapala Mud Turtle.jpg
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Genus:
Kinosternon
Species:
hirtipes
Synonyms
  • Cinosternon hirtipes
    Wagler, 1830 (nomen nudum)
  • Cinosternon hirtipes
    Wagler, 1833
  • Clemmys (Cinosternon) hirtipes
    Fitzinger, 1835
  • Cinostermon [sic] hirtipes
    Gray, 1844
  • Kinosternum hirtipes
    — LeConte, 1854
  • Kinosternon hirtipes
    — Gray, 1856
  • Cinosternum hirtipes
    Agassiz, 1857
  • Thyrosternum hirtipes
    — Agassiz, 1857
  • Ozotheca hirtipes
    — LeConte, 1859
  • Chinosternum [sic] hirtipes
    — Caballero y Caballero, 1938
  • Kinosternon [hirtipes] hirtipes
    — Schmidt, 1953
  • Kynosternon [sic] hirtipes
    — Lopez, 1975
  • Kinosternon hertipes [sic]
    Semmler, Seidel & S. Williams, 1977
    (ex errore)
  • Kinosternon hirtipes chapalaense
    Pritchard, 1979 (nomen nudum)
  • Kinosternon hirtipes chapalaense
    Iverson, 1981
  • Kinosternon hirtipes chapalense [sic]
    Obst, 1996 (ex errore)
  • Kinosternon hirtipes magdalense
    Iverson, 1981
  • Kinosternon hirtipes megacephalum
    Iverson, 1981
  • Kinosternon hirtipes megalocephala [sic]
    Artner, 2003 (ex errore)
  • Kinosternon megacephalum
    — Joseph-Ouni, 2004
  • Kinosternon murrayi
    Glass & Hartweg, 1951
  • Kinosternon hirtipes murrayi
    — Schmidt, 1953
  • Kinosternon hirtipes
    murryi
    [sic]
    Ashton, 1976 (ex errore)
  • Kinosternon hirtipes tarascense
    Iverson, 1981

The rough-footed mud turtle (Kinosternon hirtipes) is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.

Geographic range

K. hirtipes is found in the United States in Texas, and it is also found in Mexico in the Mexican states: Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Mexico DF, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Mexico State, Michoacán, Morelos, and Zacatecas.

Diet

As omnivores, the diet of K. hirtipes primarily consists of vegetation and insects including filamentous algae, seeds and fruits, aquatic, terrestrial, flying arthropods, as well as aquatic gastropods. K. hirtipes undergoes a dietary shift from insects to vegetation as body size increases which facilitates rapid growth. Although male K. hirtipes are larger in size than females, both sexes share a dietary overlap consuming similar foods.

Predation

Based on tracks around kill sites, bite marks and shell damage it has been determined that the main predators of the K. hirtipes are racoons and feral pigs. Not surprisingly, both racoons and pigs are known to hunt several other species of turtle. These turtles seem to be relatively "immune" to predation but are at the highest risk when coming out of the water to nest.

Subspecies

Five subspecies of Kinosternon hirtipes are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.

  • Valley of Mexico mud turtle – Kinosternon hirtipes hirtipes (Wagler, 1830)
  • Lake Chapala mud turtle – Kinosternon hirtipes chapalaense Iverson, 1981
  • San Juanico mud turtle – Kinosternon hirtipes magdalense Iverson, 1981
  • Viesca mud turtle – Kinosternon hirtipes megacephalum Iverson, 1981 (Extinct)
  • Mexican Plateau mud turtle – Kinosternon hirtipes murrayi Glass & Hartweg, 1951
  • Patzcuarco mud turtle – Kinosternon hirtipes tarascense Iverson, 1981

Etymology

The subspecific name, murrayi, is in honor of American zoologist Leo Tildon Murray (1902–1958).

  • Wagler J (1830). Natürliches System der Amphibien, mit vorangehender Classification der Säugthiere und Vögel. Ein Beitrag zur vergleichenden Zoologie. Munich: J.G. Cotta. vi + 354 pp. (Cinosternon [sic] hirtipes, new species, p. 137). (in German and Latin). [1].

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Tortuga de pantano de México para niños

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