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This turtle is vulnerable because it is eaten by locals and because of its limited range. Hunting and eating this turtle is prohibited but poaching continues. Pochitoque even has been identified in international traffic. In 2012, a Russian citizen was surprised with 322 pochitoques in his case. According to Norma Oficial Mexicana (NOM059 ECOL 2001), this species has a special protected status. Different organizations operate in order to protect this species as well as help them in the process of its conservation. Communities in some states in Mexico dedicate their efforts to creating hatcheries to maintain and increase the species' numbers.
''Kinosternon acutum''
2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 29 July 2007. {{Taxonbar, from=Q305955 Kinosternon Turtles of North America Reptiles of Mexico Reptiles of Belize Reptiles of Guatemala Fauna of Southern Mexico Fauna of the Yucatán Peninsula Natural history of Tabasco Natural history of Yucatán Near threatened fauna of North America Near threatened biota of Mexico Reptiles described in 1831 Taxa named by John Edward Gray Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Petén–Veracruz moist forests
The Tabasco mud turtle (''Kinosternon acutum''), commonly known as pochitoque in Tabasco, Mexico, is a small Campeche
Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...
, Mexico">
File:Kinosternon acutum 61641628.jpg
File:Kinosternon acutum 61641648.jpg
File:Kinosternon acutum 61641541.jpg
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 ...
which belongs to the family Kinosternidae. It can be found in central 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 ...
, Tabasco
Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tabasco, 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa.
It i ...
, northern Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
and Belize
Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...
. This turtle lives in small stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
s, marsh
In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
es and pond
A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...
s. Its feeding habits are mainly carnivorous
A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...
and it is a nocturnal animal. Although this turtle doesn't have a wide range it can be common at some sites. In Tabasco this turtle is an important part of its popular culture as well as being an ingredient in Tabasco's gastronomy in spite of its special protected status.
Pochitoque in Tabasco's culture
In this south Mexican state this turtle has a significant importance. Since ancient time Chontales have used it as an ingredient in their traditional kitchen so next to other turtle species ( jicotea and mojina), pochitoque has a huge demand among people of these Chontal communities as well as in restaurants of typical food. Pochitoque is roasted and then is eaten as a green soup with rice, this is called "pochitoque en verde". The pochitoque is a main character in some Chontal legends. Among Chontal people, it is said that if a crocodile eats a pochitoque, this turtle eats the crocodile from the inside and survives by killing the crocodile. Due to its protagonism in these stories, some poets and singers from Tabasco use pochitoque as an inspiration for their poems and songs and there is a dance of pochitoque as well. The song "Pochitoque Jahuactero" sang by a popular singer from Tabasco, talks about a pochitoque that needs to be careful when going out of his swamp.Special protected status
This turtle is vulnerable because it is eaten by locals and because of its limited range. Hunting and eating this turtle is prohibited but poaching continues. Pochitoque even has been identified in international traffic. In 2012, a Russian citizen was surprised with 322 pochitoques in his case. According to Norma Oficial Mexicana (NOM059 ECOL 2001), this species has a special protected status. Different organizations operate in order to protect this species as well as help them in the process of its conservation. Communities in some states in Mexico dedicate their efforts to creating hatcheries to maintain and increase the species' numbers.
Notes
References
* Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group 1996.''Kinosternon acutum''
2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 29 July 2007. {{Taxonbar, from=Q305955 Kinosternon Turtles of North America Reptiles of Mexico Reptiles of Belize Reptiles of Guatemala Fauna of Southern Mexico Fauna of the Yucatán Peninsula Natural history of Tabasco Natural history of Yucatán Near threatened fauna of North America Near threatened biota of Mexico Reptiles described in 1831 Taxa named by John Edward Gray Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Petén–Veracruz moist forests