Loggerhead musk turtle

The loggerhead musk turtle (Sternotherus minor) is a species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is native to the southern United States.

Loggerhead musk turtle
Hatchling loggerhead musk turtle
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Family: Kinosternidae
Genus: Sternotherus
Species:
S. minor
Binomial name
Sternotherus minor
(Agassiz, 1857)
Synonyms[1]
Sternotherus minor minor
  • Goniochelys minor
    Agassiz, 1857
  • Aromochelys minor
    — Strauch, 1862
  • Sternotherus minor
    — Stejneger, 1923
  • Sternotherus carinatus minor
    — Carr, 1952
  • Sternotherus minor minor
    — Tinkle & Webb, 1955
  • Sternothaerus minor minor
    — Tinkle, 1958
  • Sternotheraerus minor minor
    — Wharton & Howard, 1971
  • Kinosternon minor
    — Iverson, Ernst, Gotte & Lovich, 1989
  • Kinosternon minor minor
    — Ernst & R. Barbour, 1989
Sternotherus minor peltifer
  • Sternotherus peltifer
    H.M. Smith & Glass, 1947
  • Sternotherus carinatus peltifer
    — Carr, 1952
  • Sternotherus minor peltifer
    — Tinkle & Webb, 1955
  • Sternothaerus minor peltifer
    — Tinkle, 1958
  • Kinosternon minor peltifer
    — Ernst & R. Barbour, 1989

Geographic distribution

Within the southeastern United States, the loggerhead musk turtle can be found in Alabama, northern Florida, Georgia, extreme southeastern Kentucky, extreme eastern Louisiana, Mississippi, extreme western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and extreme southwestern Virginia.[2]

Description
Closeup of head of an adult Sternotherus minor

The loggerhead musk turtle gets its common name from its unusually large head, compared to the common musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus). Adults can be 8–13 cm (3–5 inches) in straight carapace length. Barbels are present on the chin only, not on the throat.[3]

Habitat

Sternotherus minor lives in clean freshwater habitats such as springs, streams, and rivers.[2]

Reproduction

S. minor is oviparous. Hatchlings have a straight carapace length of 2.2–2.8 cm (0.87–1.10 in). They have three prominent keels on the carapace, and they have a pinkish unmarked plastron.[2]

References
  1. Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 262–263. ISSN 1864-5755. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  2. Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp., 47 Plates, 207 Figures. ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9. (Sternotherus minor, pp. 227-228, Figure 104 + Plates 19, 21 + photo on p. ix).
  3. Conant R (1975). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 429 pp. + Plates 1-48. ISBN 0-395-19977-8. (Sternotherus minor, p. 42 + Plates 4,5 + Map 8).

Further reading
  • Agassiz L (1857). Contributions to the Natural History of the United States of America. Vol. I. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co. li + 452 pp. (Goniochelys minor, new species, p. 424).
  • Behler JL, King FW (1979). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp. ISBN 0-394-50824-6. (Sternotherus minor, p. 444 + Plates 311-312).
  • Ernst CH, Lovich JE (2009). Turtles of the United States and Canada (2 ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University. pp. 519–525. ISBN 978-0-8018-9121-2.
  • McCoy CJ, Bianculli AV, Vogt RC (1978). "Sternotherus minor in the Pascagoula River system, Mississippi". Herpetological Review 9 (3): 109.
  • Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. ISBN 0-307-13666-3. (Sternotherus minor, pp. 28–29).
  • Smith HM, Glass BP (1947). "A new musk turtle from the southeastern United States". J. Washington Acad. Sci. 37 (1): 22-24. (Sternotherus peltifer, new species).

Media related to Sternotherus minor at Wikimedia Commons.
Data related to Sternotherus minor at Wikispecies.

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