Kinosternon stejnegeri
(Hartweg, 1938)
KY-no-ster-non — STY-neh-GER-eye
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
McCord (2016, Historical Biology 28: 310–315) recommended restricting Kinosternon arizonense to fossil material and resurrecting the name K. stejnegeri for extant populations. Joyce and Bourque (2016, Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 57: 57–95) accepted this arrangement. Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (2021, Chelonian Research Monographs (8): 1–472) list K. stejnegeri as the extant species, with K. arizonense considered a separate extinct species from the Pliocene-Pleistocene.
(Taggart, Travis W. and John Carr. 2025. Testudines – Turtles. Pages 55-63 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)
Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.07.09.14.23.46)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.14 MB
Province/State Distribution:
United States: Arizona
Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for a Smithsonian herpetologist, this turtle is found in Mexico.
Kinosternon — “Moving chest,” Greek origin.
stejnegeri — Patronym honoring Leonhard H. Stejneger (1851–1943). A Norwegian-born American herpetologist and ornithologist. Longtime curator at the United States National Museum (Smithsonian Institution). One of the most influential figures in North American herpetology. Described many reptiles and amphibians; also recognized for his work in taxonomy and biogeography. Latinized genitive form of Stejneger → stejnegeri = “of Stejneger”.
First instance(s) of published English names:
Sonora Mud Turtle (Kinosternon sonoriense: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
The Reptile Database
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
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1938
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Hartweg, Norman. Kinosternon flavescens stejnegeri,a new turtle from northern Mexico. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (371):1-5
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1997
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Starkey, David E. Molecular systematics and biogeography of the New World turtle genera Trachemys and Kinosternon. Dissertation. Texas A&M, College Station, Texas.. 149pp.
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2016
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McCord, R. D. What is Kinosternon arizonense? Historical Biology 28(1-2):310-315
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2016
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Joyce, Walter G. and Jason R. Bourque. A review of the fossil record of turtles
of the Clade Pan-Kinosternoidea. Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 57(1):57–95
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2021
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Rhodin, Anders G. J., John B. Iverson, Roger Bour, Uwe Fritz, Arthur Georges, H. Bradley Shaffer, and Peter Paul van Dijk. Turtles and tortoises of the world during the rise and global spread of humanity: First checklist and review of extinct pleistocene and holocene chelonians. Chelonian Research Monographs (8):1-472
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