Eastern mud turtle

- Kinosternon subrubrum

Two subspecies are recognized as valid, including nominate subspecies.

The Eastern mud turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum) found in the US states of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Measure, New Jersey, New York City, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas y Virginia.

In Indiana, the Eastern mud turtle is listed as an endangered species.

The Eastern mud turtle it is a small species, with a carapace length of 7 to 10 cm for adults. The head is irregularly mottled or streaked with yellow. The shell is convex, yellow to black, and lacks a keel or distinctive pattern. The plastron is yellow to brown in color and may have a variable number of dark markings.. Sometimes they are confused with the Common musk turtle. But, the plastron of the Eastern mud turtle differs from that of Common musk turtle in that it has two hinges and a triangular-shaped pectoral shield. As well, Unlike in the Common musk turtle, he doesn't have two stripes on his face.

The sexes are similar in size. Males have a longer preanal length with the vent posterior to the edge of the carapace.. The youth of the Eastern mud turtle are darker in color, they lack head markings and their plastron is orange to red with a dark center.

The Eastern mud turtle it is semi-aquatic and prefers relatively calm and shallow bodies of water. wet meadows, ponds, swamps and drainage ditches are their typical habitats. in coastal areas, eastern mud turtles can tolerate brackish water and are found on the edges of mudflats and offshore islands. Although they do not sunbathe often, They are much more terrestrial than the Common musk turtle and can often be seen on land from spring through fall. They reach maturity between 4 and 8 years of age. Individuals in captivity have lived up to 38 years. The Eastern mud turtle feeds mainly on the bottom of the sea. Their diet consists of a variety of insects, mollusks, Tadpoles, crustaceans, carrion and aquatic vegetation.

The Eastern mud turtle it is swimming and lonely. They hibernate between November and March., but start and end times vary by location. The hibernaculum of these turtles includes shallow burrows at the edge of wetlands. They are crepuscular. Depending on ambient temperature, they spend their time submerged in shallow water or basking on the surface of the water. These tortoises can sunbathe with conspecifics on the same trunk, but this occurs mostly during the mating season.

These turtles are occasionally aggressive and fight each other with head-to-head confrontations.. Such clashes can lead to possible serious injury, such as limb amputation, but the motive for the attack is unknown. The Eastern mud turtle uses color perception to distinguish the sexes, what plays a role in courtship. when they mate, female musk glands release pheromones to signal males to initiate courtship. The females dig their nests and hide them using their front and hind legs., and then they lay their brood.

The Eastern mud turtle it is omnivorous and its diet is very varied. They feed mostly on the bottom., consuming mainly in the water, but sometimes they rise to the surface if the opportunity arises. Its range of consumption includes seeds, small invertebrates like earthworms (family Lumbricidae) and snails (Lymnaea, Physa, Planorbis), small insects like moths and butterflies (orden Lepidoptera ), june beetles (orden Coleoptera, familia Scarabaeidae, Melolonthinae subfamily), as well as arachnids (order Araneae), green algae, crustaceans and carrion. Strecker (1927) reported that these turtles also consumed a small striped snake (Tropidoclonion lineatum).

Mahmound (1967) investigated the diet Eastern mud turtle