Rough-footed mud turtle

Not to be confused with Mexican mud turtle.

The rough-footed mud turtle (Kinosternon hirtipes) ^[1] is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.

Rough-footed mud turtle
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Kinosternidae
Genus:	Kinosternon
Species:	K. hirtipes
Binomial name
Kinosternon hirtipes (Wagler, 1830)
Synonyms[2]
Kinosternon hirtipes hirtipes Cinosternon hirtipes Wagler, 1830 (nomen nudum) Cinosternon hirtipes Wagler, 1833 Clemmys (Cinosternon) hirtipes — Fitzinger, 1835 Cinostermon [sic] hirtipes — Gray, 1844 Kinosternum hirtipes — LeConte, 1854 Kinosternon hirtipes — Gray, 1856 Cinosternum hirtipes — Agassiz, 1857 Thyrosternum hirtipes — Agassiz, 1857 Ozotheca hirtipes — LeConte, 1859 Chinosternum [sic] hirtipes — Caballero y Caballero, 1938 Kinosternon [hirtipes] hirtipes — Schmidt, 1953 Kynosternon [sic] hirtipes — Lopez, 1975 Kinosternon hertipes [sic] Semmler, Seidel & S. Williams, 1977 (ex errore) Kinosternon hirtipes chapalaense Kinosternon hirtipes chapalaense Pritchard, 1979 (nomen nudum) Kinosternon hirtipes chapalaense Iverson, 1981 Kinosternon hirtipes chapalense [sic] Obst, 1996 (ex errore) Kinosternon hirtipes magdalense Kinosternon hirtipes magdalense Iverson, 1981 Kinosternon hirtipes megacephalum Kinosternon hirtipes megacephalum Iverson, 1981 Kinosternon hirtipes megalocephala [sic] Artner, 2003 (ex errore) Kinosternon megacephalum — Joseph-Ouni, 2004 Kinosternon hirtipes murrayi Kinosternon murrayi Glass & Hartweg, 1951 Kinosternon hirtipes murrayi — Schmidt, 1953 Kinosternon hirtipes murryi [sic] Ashton, 1976 (ex errore) Kinosternon hirtipes tarascense Kinosternon hirtipes tarascense Iverson, 1981

Geographic range

K. hirtipes is found in the United States in Texas, and it is also found in Mexico in the Mexican states: Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Mexico DF, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Mexico State, Michoacán, Morelos, and Zacatecas.

Diet

As omnivores, the diet of K. hirtipes primarily consists of vegetation and insects including filamentous algae, seeds and fruits, aquatic, terrestrial, flying arthropods, as well as aquatic gastropods. K. hirtipes undergoes a dietary shift from insects to vegetation as body size increases which facilitates rapid growth. Although male K. hirtipes are larger in size than females, both sexes share a dietary overlap consuming similar foods.^[3]

Predation

Based on tracks around kill sites, bite marks and shell damage it has been determined that the main predators of the K. hirtipes are racoons and feral pigs. Not surprisingly, both racoons and pigs are known to hunt several other species of turtle. These turtles seem to be relatively "immune" to predation but are at the highest risk when coming out of the water to nest.^[4]

Subspecies

Five subspecies of Kinosternon hirtipes are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.^[5]

• Valley of Mexico mud turtle – Kinosternon hirtipes hirtipes (Wagler, 1830)
• Lake Chapala mud turtle – Kinosternon hirtipes chapalaense Iverson, 1981
• San Juanico mud turtle – Kinosternon hirtipes magdalense Iverson, 1981
• Viesca mud turtle – Kinosternon hirtipes megacephalum Iverson, 1981 (Extinct)
• Mexican Plateau mud turtle – Kinosternon hirtipes murrayi Glass & Hartweg, 1951
• Patzcuarco mud turtle – Kinosternon hirtipes tarascense Iverson, 1981

• Kinosternon hirtipes murrayi
• 
  Guanajuato
• 
  Guanajuato
• 
  Basking, Chihuahua
• 
  Michoacán
• 
  Hatchling, Chihuahua

Etymology

The subspecific name, murrayi, is in honor of American zoologist Leo Tildon Murray (1902–1958).^[6]