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Mexican musk turtle

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Mexican musk turtle
Staurotypus triporcatus
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Family: Kinosternidae
Genus: Staurotypus
Species:
S. triporcatus
Binomial name
Staurotypus triporcatus
(Wiegmann, 1828)
Synonyms[2]
  • Terrapene triporcata
    Wiegmann, 1828
  • Staurotypus triporcatus
    Wagler, 1830
  • Emys (Kinosternon) triporcata
    Gray, 1831
  • Kinosternon triporcatum
    — Gray, 1831
  • Clemmys (Staurotypus) triporcata
    Fitzinger, 1835
  • Claudius pictus
    Cope, 1872
  • Staurotipus triporcatus
    Sumichrast, 1882
  • Staurotypus triporeatus
    Thatcher, 1963 (ex errore)
  • Clemmys (Staurotypus) triporcatus
    H.M. Smith & R.B. Smith, 1980
  • Staurotipus triporcatus
    Ippi & Flores, 2001 (ex errore)

The Mexican musk turtle (Staurotypus triporcatus), also known commonly as the giant musk turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species occurs in Central America and Mexico.

Geographic range

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S. triporcatus is found in Belize, northeastern Guatemala, western Honduras, and Mexico. In Mexico it is found in the Mexican states of Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz.[3]

Description

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S. triporcatus is typically much larger than other species of Kinosternidae, attaining a straight carapace length of up to 36 cm (14 in), with males being significantly smaller than females. It is typically brown, black, or green in color, with a yellow underside. The carapace is distinguished by three distinct ridges, or keels, which run the length.[citation needed]

S. triporcatus exhibits XX/XY sex determination, in contrast to the temperature-dependent sex determination of most turtles.[4]

Diet

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Like other musk turtle species, S. triporcatus is carnivorous, eating various types of aquatic invertebrates, as well as fish and carrion.[citation needed].

References

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  1. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  2. ^ Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 261–262. doi:10.3897/vz.57.e30895. ISSN 1864-5755.
  3. ^ "Staurotypus triporcatus ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  4. ^ Badenhorst, Daleen; Stanyon, Roscoe; Engstrom, Tag; Valenzuela, Nicole (2013-04-01). "A ZZ/ZW microchromosome system in the spiny softshell turtle, Apalone spinifera, reveals an intriguing sex chromosome conservation in Trionychidae". Chromosome Research. 21 (2): 137–147. doi:10.1007/s10577-013-9343-2. ISSN 1573-6849. PMID 23512312. S2CID 254379278.
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Further reading

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  • Wiegmann AF (1828). "Beyträge zur Amphibienkunde ". Isis von Oken 21: 364–383. (Terrapene triiporcata, new species, pp. 364–365). (in German and Latin).