Pacific Coast Giant Musk Turtle
Staurotypus salvinii
Gray, 1864
STAW-roh-TIE-pus — sal-VEE-nee-eye
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
Native to the Pacific lowlands of southern Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala. It was introduced via the pet trade ca. 2010 and is established in the canal system in Zoo Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida (Smith et al., 2011, Reptiles & Amphibians 18: 55–56; Smith and Krysko, 2019, Staurotypus salvinii. Pages 283–284 in Krysko et al. (Editors) Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida).
(Krysko, Kenneth and Travis W. Taggart. 2025. Established Exotic Species. Pages 64-87 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: 2023.12.13.09.47.31)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.07 MB
Province/State Distribution:
Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for an English naturalist.
Staurotypus — From Greek stauros (σταυρός), “cross,” and typos (τύπος), “mark” or “model.” Refers to the distinctive cruciform (cross-shaped) pattern of the plastron.
salvinii — A patronym honoring Osbert Salvin (1835–1898), an English naturalist and ornithologist who worked extensively in Central America.
First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
The Reptile Database
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
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1864
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Gray, John E. Description of a new species of Staurotypus (S. salvinii) from Guatemala. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1864:127-128
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1983
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Dean, R. H. and Bickham, J. W. Staurotypus salvini. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (327):1-2
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1985
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Iverson, John B. Staurotypus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (362):1-2
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2011
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Smith, Dustin C., Kenneth L . Krysko, Tracy A. Sorensen, and Maria N. Sider. The Pacific Coast Giant Musk Turtle, Stauroptypus salvinii Gray 1864 (Kinosternidae), a new non-indigenous species in Florida. IRCF Reptiles and Amphibians. Reptiles & Amphibians 18(1):55-56
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2019
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Krysko, Kenneth L., Kevin M. Enge, and Paul E. Moler (Editor) Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. 728pp.
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