Kinosternoidea is a superfamily of aquatic

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

s, which includes two families: Dermatemydidae, and

Kinosternidae 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 num ...

. Kinosternoids are cryptodires, turtles whose necks are able to retract within their shell. Molecular studies suggest they are likely the sister group to the

snapping turtles The Chelydridae is a Family (biology), family of turtles that has seven extinct and two extant genera. The extant genera are the snapping turtles, ''Chelydra'' and ''Macrochelys''. Both are Endemic (ecology), endemic to the Western Hemisphere. Th ...

of the family Chelydridae. They are also

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize ...

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

, phosphatic, and actively mobile.

Classification

*Family Dermatemydidae ::*Genus '' Dermatemys'' ::*Genus '' Baptemys''Walter G. Joyce (2007)
Phylogenetic Relationships of Mesozoic Turtles
" Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History *Family

:*Genus '' Hoplochelys'' :*Subfamily Staurotypinae ::*Genus ''

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

'' ::*Genus '' Staurotypus'' :*Subfamily Kinosterninae ::*Genus ''

Kinosternon ''Kinosternon'' is a genus of small aquatic turtles from the Americas known commonly as mud turtles. Geographic range They are found in the United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America. The greatest species richness is in Mexico, a ...

'' ::*Genus '' Sternotherus''

Past classification

The entirely unrelated

big-headed turtle The big-headed turtle (''Platysternon megacephalum'') is a species of turtle in the family Platysternidae from Southeast Asia and southern China. Background Previously considered a distinct family placed on occasion in " Kinosternoidea", it was ...

(''Platysternon megacephalum'') was previously included in classification.

References

;Bibliography * {{Turtle-stub