NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Tabasco Mud Turtle
Kinosternon acutum Gray, 1831
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Tabasco mud turtle (Kinosternon acutum), commonly known as pochitoque in Tabasco, Mexico, is a small turtle which belongs to the family Kinosternidae. It can be found in central Veracruz, Tabasco, northern Guatemala and Belize. This turtle lives in small streams, marshes and ponds. Its feeding habits are mainly carnivorous and it is a nocturnal animal. Although this turtle doesn't have a wide range it can be common at some sites. In Tabasco this turtle is an important part of its popular culture as well as being an ingredient in Tabasco's gastronomy in spite of its special protected status.
Wikipedia contributors, Tabasco mud turtle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:15:34.515295+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Kinosternon acutum Gray, 1831
- Name authority
- Gray, 1831
- Common name
- Tabasco Mud Turtle
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Testudines
- Family
- Kinosternidae
- Genus
- Kinosternon
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderTestudines Batsch, 1788
- suborderCryptodira
- superfamilyChelydroidea
- familyKinosternidae
- genusKinosternon
- speciesKinosternon acutum Gray, 1831
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Kinosternon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Jalisco Mud TurtleKinosternon chimalhuaca Berry, Seidel & Iverson, 1997 | KinosternidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Durango Mud TurtleKinosternon durangoense Iverson, 1979 | KinosternidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Yellow Mud TurtleKinosternon flavescens (Agassiz, 1857) | KinosternidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| White-lipped Mud TurtleKinosternon leucostomum (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1851) | KinosternidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oaxaca Mud TurtleKinosternon oaxacae Berry & Iverson, 1980 | KinosternidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Scorpion Mud TurtleKinosternon scorpioides (Linnaeus, 1766) | KinosternidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sonoran Mud TurtleKinosternon sonoriense Le Conte, 1854 | KinosternidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mississippi Mud TurtleKinosternon hippocrepis Gray, 1856 | KinosternidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cora Mud TurtleKinosternon cora Loc-Barragán, Reyes-Velasco, Woolrich-Piña, Grünwald, Venegas De Anaya, Rangel-Mendoza & López-Luna, 2020 | KinosternidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Arizona Mud TurtleKinosternon stejnegeri Hartweg, 1938 | KinosternidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Central Chiapas Mud TurtleKinosternon abaxillare Baur, 1925 | KinosternidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Kinosternon cruentatum (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1851) | KinosternidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Cinosternum berendtianum Cope, 1865 Cope, 1865 | synonym |
| Cinosternon effeldtii Peters, 1873 Peters, 1873 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Kinosternon&species=acutum Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3R85R. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.