Razor-backed musk turtle

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Razor-backed musk 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:	Sternotherus
Species:	S. carinatus
Binomial name
Sternotherus carinatus (Gray, 1856)
Synonyms[2]
Aromochelys carinata Gray, 1856 Aromochelys carinatum — Gray, 1856 Ozotheca triquetra Agassiz, 1857 Goniochelys triquetra — Agassiz, 1857 Aromochelys carinatus — Cope, 1867 Goniochelys carinata — Garman, 1884 Cinosternum carinatum — Boulenger, 1889 Kinosternon carinatum — Stejneger & Barbour , 1917 Sternotherus carinatus — Stejneger, 1923 Sternotherus carinatus carinatus — Carr, 1952 Sternothaerus carinatus — Tinkle, 1958 Kinosternon carinatus — Welch, 1994

The razor-backed musk turtle (Sternotherus carinatus) is a species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is native to the southern United States. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.^[3]

Geographic range

S. carinatus is found in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Florida, and Texas.^[3]

Description

The razor-backed musk turtle grows to a straight carapace length of about 15 cm (5.9 in). It has a brown-colored carapace, with black markings at the edges of each scute. The carapace has a distinct, sharp keel down the center of its length, giving the species its common name.^[4]

The body is typically grey-brown in color, with black spotting, as is the head, which tends to have a bulbous shape to it. It has a long neck, short legs, and a sharp beak. Males can usually be distinguished from females by their longer tails.

The

The razor-backed musk turtle is frequently kept in captivity, and is regularly captive bred.^[9] Its relatively small size, hardiness and ease of care makes it a more attractive choice as a pet turtle for many keepers, than the more commonly available red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans).^[9] There is disagreement in sources how old musk turtles can get in captivity with estimates ranging between 20 and 50 years.^[10][9]

References

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1889). Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhynchocephalians, and Crocodiles in the British Museum (Natural History). New Edition. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). x + 311 pp. + Plates I–VI. (Cinosternum carinatum, p. 38).
• Carr AF (1952). Handbook of Turtles: The Turtles of the United States, Canada, and Baja California. Ithaca, New York: Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press. 542 pp.
• ISBN 0-7167-0020-4
  . (Sternotherus carinatus, p. 263).
• Gray JE (1856). "On some New Species of Freshwater Tortoises from North America, Ceylon and Australia". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Second Series 18: 263–268. (Aromochelys carinata, new species, p. 266).
• ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9
  . (Sternotherus carinatus, pp. 227–228 + Plate 19 + Figures 86, 104).
• Stejneger L, Barbour T (1917). A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 125 pp. (Kinosternon carinatum, p. 111).
• Tinkle DW, Webb RG (1955). "A new species of Sternotherus with a discussion of the Sternotherus carinatus complex (Chelonia, Kinosternidae)". Tulane Studies in Zoology 3 (3): 53–67.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sternotherus carinatus.

Wikispecies has information related to Sternotherus carinatus.

• Austin's Turtle Pages: Razorback Musk
• Turtles of the World: Sternotherus carinatus