Striped Mud Turtle (Kinosternon baurii)
Description: K. baurii has three light-colored stripes along the length of the smooth carapace. It can grow to a straight carapace length of 3 to 4¾ inches.
Habitat: K. baurii is a common species found in freshwater habitats. It wanders about on land more than any other of the mud turtles and can sometimes be observed foraging for food in cow dung.
Range: This species occurs from the Florida Keys (at least historically) north throughout the Atlantic Coastal Plan to southern Delaware
Diet: The striped mud turtle is omnivorous. It eats insects, snails, fish, carrion, algae, and plants.
Reproduction: Adult females of K. baurii nest from September to June. The eggs, which are slightly over 1 inch long, hatch 13 to 19 weeks later. The hatchlings are about 1 inch in straight carapace length and, unlike the adult turtles, have keeled carapaces.
Status: This species has a fairly broad distribution, occurs in a variety of habitats, is not intrinsically vulnerable, but does suffer from a variety of threats. The Lower Florida Keys population is under review/petitioned for listing (USFWS 2011). Although long-term trends have not been measured, the species has undoubtedly declined due to the extensive draining of freshwater wetlands within its range during the 20th century.
»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
»» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
»» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
»» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
»» Order: Testudines - Turtles & Tortoises
»» Family: Kinosternidae - Mud & Musk Turtles
»» Genus: Kinosternon
»» Species: Kinosternon baurii - Striped Mud Turtle
»» Subspecies: None
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Striped Mud Turtle", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.
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