Range in California: Red
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Formerly present, now apparently extinct in California.
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Adult, Pima County, Arizona |
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Adult, Pima County, Arizona |
Juvenile, Santa Cruz County, Arizona |
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Juvenile, Santa Cruz County, Arizona |
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Habitat |
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Former habitat, Colorado River near Palo Verde, Imperial County
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Former habitat, Colorado River near Laguna Dam, Imperial County |
Former habitat, Colorado River near Ft. Mojave |
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Short Video |
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A Sonoran Mud Turtle, found wandering overland next to a dry creek in the mountains outside of Tucson Arizona, slowly pokes its head out of its shell and looks around for several minutes before quickly returning back into the shell. It never did come out, and was left to crawl back to wherever it was going.
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| Description |
Size |
| 3 1/8 - 6 1/2 inches in shell length (7.9 - 16.5 cm) (Stebbins 2003) |
| Appearance |
A dark, medium-sized turtle with a smooth and elongated carapace, and mottled markings on the head, neck and limbs. Light markings on the head tend to form a pair of stripes on each side of the head. The feet are webbed, the tail is short, and there are barbels on the throat.
Carapace color is olive to dark brown, with darkly-marked seams. 1 or 3 lengthwise keels may be present. The plastron is hinged and yellow to brown in color with darkly-marked seams.
Males are smaller with a concave plastron and a longer thicker tail. |
| Behavior and Natural History |
Most information for this species comes from individuals studied in Arizona. Little is known about the life history of California animals.
Active during the day and at night, becoming more nocturnal in hot summer weather. Active all year, though feeding may not occur during the cold of winter. Higher-elevation populations may be forced to hibernate in winter.
Mostly sedentary, rarely moving out of or away from water, but occasionally migrates considerable distances from one waterway to another. |
| Diet |
| Omnivorous, eating mostly animals including snails, fish, frogs, tadpoles, crustaceans, and other small invertebrates, along with some plant material. |
| Reproduction |
| Females lay a clutch of 1 - 11 eggs from May to September, which take almost a year to hatch. Sometimes as many as four clutches a year are laid. Females reach sexual maturity 6 years, males in 2- 6 years. |
| Range |
Historical range was southwestern New Mexico, southern Arizona, southeast California along the Colorado River, and Chihuahua and Sonora, Mexico. Now apparently extinct along the Colorado River.
In California, the historical range was along the Colorado River from the Nevada Border south to the Mexican border.
Sonoran Mud Turtles also began dispersing into agricultural canals in the Imperial Valley before they disappeared from California. Some of the old California records include Palo Verde, Yuma Indian Reservation, Ft. Mojave, and near Laguna Dam. |
| Habitat |
| In California, formerly found in the desert in overflow channels of the lower Colorado River. Normally occurs in ponds and slow-moving tree-lined watercourses, including quiet pools in streams, oxbows, ponds, creeks, and cattle tanks. Usually found in woodlands, but occasionally in grasslands. Needs a permanent or nearly permanent water source. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
| Two subspecies have been described, including Kinosternon sonoriense longifemorale, the Sonoyta Mud Turtle. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
Endangered.
This species appears to be declining over much of its range. The last known verifiable record along the Colorado River was from near Laguna Dam in 1962.
The reasons for this turtles apparent extinction in California are uncertain, but most likely a combination of introduced aquatic predators such as bullfrogs and Louisiana red swamp crayfish, introduced vegetation, especially salt cedar, and widespread water and land alterations along the Colorado River including reservoirs, dams, and agriculture, is responsible. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Kinosternidae |
Mud and Musk Turtles |
| Genus |
Kinosternon |
American Mud Turtles |
| Species |
sonoriense |
Sonoran Mud Turtle |
Subspecies
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sonoriense |
Sonoran Mud Turtle |
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Original Description |
Kinosternon sonoriense - Le Conte, 1854 - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 7, p. 184
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Kinsoternon - Greek - kineo - move, and sternon- chest, breast - refers to their ability to move the lower shell
sonoriense - belonging to Sonora Province, Mexico -- type locality, "Tucson in Sonora"
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Sonora Mud Turtle
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Related or Similar California Turtles |
A. m. pallida - Southern Pacific Pond Turtle
A. m. marmorata - Northern Pacific Pond Turtle
C. p. bellii - Western Painted Turtle
T. s. elegans - Red-eared Slider
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
California Turtle and Tortoise Club
Reptiles of Arizona
AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILE SPECIES OF SPECIAL CONCERN IN CALIFORNIA
A report to the California Department of Fish and Game
Mark R. Jennings and Marc P. Hayes, November 1, 1994
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Powell, Robert., Joseph T. Collins, and Errol D. Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. The University Press of Kansas, 1998.
Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Turtles and Lizards of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009.
Carr, Archie. Handbook of Turtles: The Turtles of the United States, Canada, and Baja California. Cornell University Press, 1969.
Ernst, Carl H., Roger W. Barbour, & Jeffrey E. Lovich. Turtles of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution 1994.
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The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
None |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
None |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
DFG:SSC |
California Species of Special Concern |
| Bureau of Land Management |
None |
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| USDA Forest Service |
None |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
G4 SH
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Apparently Secure |
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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IUCN:VU |
Vulnerable |
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