Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Vallarta mud turtle (Kinosternon vogti), recorded as Critically Endangered
Vallarta mud turtle (Kinosternon vogti). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Critically Endangered

Vallarta mud turtle

Kinosternon vogti

Vallarta mud turtle is a turtle in the family Kinosternidae — Kinosternon vogti, recorded as Critically Endangered.

Status
Critically Endangered
Scientific name
Kinosternon vogti
Taxonomy
Testudines · Kinosternidae · Kinosternon

Appearance

It can be identified by a combination of the number of plastron and carapace scutes, body size, and the distinctive yellow rostral shield in males.

It is the smallest of all freshwater turtles and possibly extant turtles in general, as the collected specimens do not exceed 10.2 centimeters.

Range and habitat

It is endemic to Mexican state of Jalisco. It is only known from a few human-created or human-affected habitats (such as small streams and ponds) found around Puerto Vallarta. It is one of only 3 species in Kinosternon known to inhabit the lowlands of the Central Pacific region in Mexico.

In February of 2023, Turtle Island in Graz, Austria successfully hatched the first ever Vallarta Mud Turtles born in human care.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Diet

At the time of writing, nothing is known about their diet, nesting areas, mating behaviour etc.

In crisis

Natural populations are not currently known, and the current habitats the species is known from have all been damaged by urban growth. This makes it possibly one of the most threatened freshwater turtle species.

Vallarta mud turtle is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Vallarta mud turtle, Wikidata item Q54951028. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Also in this catalog

Photograph of Vaquita (Phocoena sinus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Vaquita

Phocoena sinus
Photograph of Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Javan rhinoceros

Rhinoceros sondaicus
Photograph of Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Sumatran orangutan

Pongo abelii
Photograph of Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Axolotl

Ambystoma mexicanum

Quick answers

What is Vallarta mud turtle?
Vallarta mud turtle is a turtle in the family Kinosternidae — Kinosternon vogti.
What is the conservation status of Vallarta mud turtle?
Critically Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Kinosternon vogti. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Vallarta mud turtle live?
It is only known from a few human-created or human-affected habitats (such as small streams and ponds) found around Puerto Vallarta.
Why is Vallarta mud turtle in crisis?
It is one of only 3 species in Kinosternon known to inhabit the lowlands of the Central Pacific region in Mexico.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Kinosternon vogti?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Vallarta mud turtle a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.