The Arizona mud turtle (''Kinosternon stejnegeri'') is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae found in the deserts of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

(United States) and

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

(Mexico). It is a semi-aquatic turtle. It lives in impermanent puddles, and avoids permanent rivers and lakes. The male adult Arizona mud turtle is long, and the female is slightly smaller. The turtle's top shell is brown and olive brown with a dome shaped appearance. The skin is brown, dark silver on top, and light yellow on bottom of the head. There are no patterns on the extremities. The turtle's diet includes frogs,

tadpole A tadpole or polliwog (also spelled pollywog) is the Larva, larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully Aquatic animal, aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial animal, ...

invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

s and

carrion Carrion (), also known as a carcass, is the decaying flesh of dead animals. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures ...

. During winter the Arizona mud turtle hibernates under the temporary puddle and pond. The growth cycle begins in July and early August when the turtle starts laying eggs.

Description

The male adult Arizona mud turtle is long, and the female is long. The turtle's body varies in color. The carapace (upper portion of the shell) is dome shaped and tends to be brown, olive or a yellow-brown in color. The carapace also lacks keels. The marginal shield, which can be described as the rim around the shell, is yellow, As is the lower portion of the shell, the

plastron The turtle shell is a shield for the ventral and dorsal parts of turtles (the Order (biology), order Testudines), completely enclosing all the turtle's vital organs and in some cases even the head. It is constructed of modified bony elements such ...

. The top of the head is grey in color, and the bottom and sides are cream and light yellow. Unlike other species of turtles, the first vertebral scute and second marginal shield do not connect.

Habitat and behavior

Arizona mud turtles prefer temporary ponds and puddle because they will have a secure food source. The Arizona mud turtle is active occurs during the day. It is often found near the temporary pond to conserve heat and energy from sunlight. It also is active at night in July and August in monsoon season. Because it is warm during this period, it spends most of its time in the water, and is therefore semi-aquatic. During the winter, it hibernates in a burrow. In droughts, the Arizona mud turtle can remain dormant underground for up to two years.

Distribution

The Arizona mud turtle usually lives at elevations of . It is found in the Lower Colorado River Sonoran Desert scrub, Arizona Upland Sonoran Desert scrub, and Semidesert Grassland communities.

Diet

The diet consists of anurans, dytiscid beetles, toads, tadpoles, fish, invertebrates, hydrophilid beetles and carrion.

Life cycle

The Arizona mud turtle mates primarily in July and early August, and the female lays three to seven eggs. The Arizona mud turtle usually buries its eggs close to food sources. Hatchlings are usually carapace length and have life span from 6 to 10 years age.

Major threats

The species is considered threatened due to ranching, agriculture and flood control in the Sonoran Desert. Its wetlands habitat also exposes it to climate and habitat degradation. Road mortality is also likely to affect this species. The Arizona mud turtle benefits from pond construction performed by humans.

References

Serb, J.M., Phillips, C.A. and Iverson, J.B. 2001. Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of ''Kinosternon flavescens'' based on complete mitochondrial control region sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 18(1): 149-162 {{Taxonbar, from1=Q84953574, from2=Q2713760 Kinosternon Reptiles of Mexico Reptiles of the United States Fauna of the Sonoran Desert Natural history of Sonora Reptiles described in 1923