The Mexican box turtle (''Terrapene mexicana'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

box turtle Box turtle is the common name for several species of Testudines, turtle. It may refer to those of the Genus (biology), genus ''Cuora'' or ''Pyxidea mouhotii, Pyxidea'', which are the Asian people, Asian box turtles, or more commonly to species of ...

belonging to the family

Emydidae Emydidae (Latin (freshwater tortoise) + Ancient Greek (, "appearance, resemblance")) is a family of testudines (turtles) that includes close to 50 species in 10 genera. Members of this family are commonly called terrapins, pond turtles, or mar ...

. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of ''

Terrapene carolina The common box turtle (''Terrapene carolina'') is a species of box turtle with five existing subspecies. It is found throughout the Eastern United States and Mexico. The box turtle has a distinctive hinged lower shell that allows it to completel ...

'' (''Terrapene carolina mexicana'').

Geographic range

This species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It is found in the Mexican states of

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

and

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

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Habitat

It lives in areas with tropical climates within humid forests at shallow rainwater puddles.Herpetomania
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Description

''Terrapene mexicana'' can reach a length of about . The carapace is long and dome-shaped, with rather variable color and markings. The adult males show gray-blue nuances on the head and red or orange nuances on the front legs.

Biology

The Mexican box turtle does not have much information on them because very few of them are domesticated (kept as pets). However, we do know that they have a lifespan of 100 years. Usually these turtles have water nearby homes and a bush to hide. Having a home by the water will attract insects, which are a big part of their diet.

Gallery

Image: Emydidae - Terrapene mexicana (Mexican Box Turtle) (2).jpg, ''Terrapene mexicana'' at the

Zoo Atlanta Zoo Atlanta (sometimes referred as Atlanta Zoo) is an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoo in Atlanta, Georgia. The current president and CEO of Zoo Atlanta is Raymond B. King. History Zoo Atlanta was founded in 1889, when b ...

Image:Terrapene carolina mexicana.jpg, A Mexican box turtle on display in Gothenburg Natural History Museum Image: CistudoMexicanaFord.jpg, Illustration from ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' 1848-1849 File:Terrapene mexicana, Mexican Box Turtle, Tamaulipas.jpg, Mexican box turtle (''Terrapene mexicana'') in the field in southern Tamaulipas, Mexico ;Bibliography *Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Inverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Roger, Bour (2011-12-31). "Turtles of the world, 2011 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status". ''Chelonian Research Monographs''. 5. *Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". ''Vertebrate Zoology''. 57 *Dodd, C. Kenneth. ''North American Box Turtles a Natural History''. University of Oklahoma Press, 2002. *Milstead, William W., and Donald W. Tinkle. "Terrapene of Western Mexico, with Comments on the Species Groups in the Genus". ''Copeia'', vol. 1967, no. 1, 1967, p. 180., *Stone, Lynn M. ''Nature Watch: Box Turtles''. Lynn M. Stone, 2007.

References

External links

Box Turtles
Common box turtle Reptiles described in 1849 Taxa named by John Edward Gray {{Turtle-stub