NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Arizona Mud Turtle
Kinosternon stejnegeri Hartweg, 1938
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 Arizona mud turtle (Kinosternon stejnegeri) is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae found in the deserts of Arizona (United States) and Sonora (Mexico). It is a semi-aquatic turtle. It lives in impermanent puddles, and avoids permanent rivers and lakes.
The male adult Arizona mud turtle is 103–181.3 mm (4.06–7.14 in) long, and the female is slightly smaller. The turtle's top shell is brown and olive brown with a dome shaped appearance. The skin is brown, dark silver on top, and light yellow on bottom of the head. There are no patterns on the extremities.
The turtle's diet includes frogs, tadpoles, invertebrates and carrion. During winter the Arizona mud turtle hibernates under the temporary puddle and pond.
The growth cycle begins in July and early August when the turtle starts laying eggs.
Wikipedia contributors, Arizona mud turtle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:13:35.121806+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Kinosternon stejnegeri Hartweg, 1938
- Name authority
- Hartweg, 1938
- Common name
- Arizona 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 stejnegeri Hartweg, 1938
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tabasco Mud TurtleKinosternon acutum Gray, 1831 | KinosternidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| 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 |
| 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 |
|---|---|
| Kinosternon flavescens arizonense Gilmore, 1922 Gilmore, 1922 | 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=stejnegeri 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:8GPWN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.