Random photos of the Muddidae (I made up that family)

cdmay

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 1, 2008
Messages
1,945
Location (City and/or State)
Somewhere in Florida
Everyone is busy now for one reason or another. So I'm just throwing up some images. Cause we're all bored.
First, red-cheeks...
IMG_1590_zpsy8sc0hm0.jpg


IMG_0023_zpsfsfdwqct.jpg

DSCN5591_zpsozb0fs3a.jpg

IMG_0029_zpsnmhz19sq.jpg

Staurotypus salvinii...
IMG_0042_zpspkxoaadu.jpg

DSCN4252_zpsf1nu9yig.jpg


Some Key mud turtles from the Lower Keys in Florida...
DSCN5447_zpse9ktkvh5.jpg

DSCN5450_zpsrjlgekbj.jpg

DSCN5445_zpsm3keyjgj.jpg

Key mud turtle habitat...
DSCN5442_zpsqsrneyjt.jpg


Some Kinosternon acutum...
DSCN4816_zps4exb86rb.jpg

DSCN4821_zpswclaygcd.jpg


Kinosternon herrerai
DSCN4791_zpsw4zay2mt.jpg

DSCN4789_zps7lxtjwhl.jpg

DSCN4794_zps2toxczk5.jpg


And finally an adult male Kinosternon creaseri. The adult males of this species have ridiculous 'hawk billed' faces.
DSCN4797_zps8jg5xlou.jpg
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,660
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Wow, really nice coloring on some of them. The beak on the last one, wow. If I didn't already know your experience, I would have told you it's very over grown and needs trimming LOL.
Is there a specific purpose to it being that long?
 

cdmay

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 1, 2008
Messages
1,945
Location (City and/or State)
Somewhere in Florida
Wow, really nice coloring on some of them. The beak on the last one, wow. If I didn't already know your experience, I would have told you it's very over grown and needs trimming LOL.
Is there a specific purpose to it being that long?

Not sure exactly. Creaseri are reported to be highly aggressive towards each other and typically only one individual is found in the temporary pools they inhabit in Mexico.
But oh yeah, the males develop crazy looking beaks.
 

Moozillion

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Messages
10,744
Location (City and/or State)
Louisiana, USA
Everyone is busy now for one reason or another. So I'm just throwing up some images. Cause we're all bored.
First, red-cheeks...
IMG_1590_zpsy8sc0hm0.jpg


IMG_0023_zpsfsfdwqct.jpg

DSCN5591_zpsozb0fs3a.jpg

IMG_0029_zpsnmhz19sq.jpg

Staurotypus salvinii...
IMG_0042_zpspkxoaadu.jpg

DSCN4252_zpsf1nu9yig.jpg


Some Key mud turtles from the Lower Keys in Florida...
DSCN5447_zpse9ktkvh5.jpg

DSCN5450_zpsrjlgekbj.jpg

DSCN5445_zpsm3keyjgj.jpg

Key mud turtle habitat...
DSCN5442_zpsqsrneyjt.jpg


Some Kinosternon acutum...
DSCN4816_zps4exb86rb.jpg

DSCN4821_zpswclaygcd.jpg


Kinosternon herrerai
DSCN4791_zpsw4zay2mt.jpg

DSCN4789_zps7lxtjwhl.jpg

DSCN4794_zps2toxczk5.jpg


And finally an adult male Kinosternon creaseri. The adult males of this species have ridiculous 'hawk billed' faces.
DSCN4797_zps8jg5xlou.jpg
WOWWWW!!!! They are INCREDIBLE!!!!:)
Are they all yours? :)
 

cdmay

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 1, 2008
Messages
1,945
Location (City and/or State)
Somewhere in Florida
Thanks Moozillion. The red-cheeks and the Staurotypus are mine.
The Key mud turtles were photoed and released.
The creaseri, acutum and herrerai were photographed at a dealers place in SW Florida.
 

Berkeley

Active Member
Joined
May 4, 2014
Messages
297
Wow! Those red cheeks are fantastic looking.

Great post, Carl. Thanks for sharing.
--Berkeley
 

AJK Aquaria

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2016
Messages
300
Great pics and animals. Are those MUDs in the Keys threatened or rare? Either way, awesome find.


I have pretty much no experience with mud turtles. Bought a hatchling Red Cheek almost 20 years ago, but had to sell her several years later when I moved out of my parents house. She had an orangey/salmon colored head. Your animals are on fire...
 

cdmay

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 1, 2008
Messages
1,945
Location (City and/or State)
Somewhere in Florida
Great pics and animals. Are those MUDs in the Keys threatened or rare? Either way, awesome find.


I have pretty much no experience with mud turtles. Bought a hatchling Red Cheek almost 20 years ago, but had to sell her several years later when I moved out of my parents house. She had an orangey/salmon colored head. Your animals are on fire...

The Key mud turtle has been 'de-listed' by the State of Florida as far as I can tell. The reasoning is that it is no longer considered an actual subspecies.

https://www.fws.gov/southeast/candidateconservation/pdf/LKStripedMudTurtleReview.pdf

Personally, I think the FWC is full of beans (or something like that) as in my experience this population is both morphologically as well as geographically distinct. I know of about five locations in the Lower Keys that currently have active colonies and two of these I've visited for close to 30 years. The mud turtles from these locations possess very thick shells and the males often have very enlarged heads--like this male from Summerland Key...and little if any of the traits we normally associate with K. baurii. I will admit that neonates look like typical mainland K. baurii though.
DSC06155.jpg


But even young adults, like this male I caught (right after he nabbed a native Gambusia that was drawn to my bait), already possess the thickened carapace that the mainland animals never have-- and lack of dorsal striping that the mainland animals usually have.
DSC06132.jpg


Front view of the same guy. Notice the very thick shell with no stripes?
DSC06131.jpg


In addition, the gap between the Middle Keys and the Lower Keys is separated by a seven mile seawater barrier that includes extremely fast currents, deep water and enough predators to scare the crap out of any freshwater turtle. There is exactly ZERO chance that there is an interchange of the Lower Keys turtles and any others.
From anywhere.
 

AJK Aquaria

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2016
Messages
300
Thanks for the info.

What laws govern reptile collection in Florida? Here in Illinois, as long as the animal is not threatened or endangered, anyone with a fishing license can collect turtles. There are certainly limitations, though. Just wondering if these isolated populations will become a target of folks who no longer need to dodge the law.
 

cdmay

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 1, 2008
Messages
1,945
Location (City and/or State)
Somewhere in Florida
Thanks for the info.

What laws govern reptile collection in Florida? Here in Illinois, as long as the animal is not threatened or endangered, anyone with a fishing license can collect turtles. There are certainly limitations, though. Just wondering if these isolated populations will become a target of folks who no longer need to dodge the law.

I'm not up-to-date with current laws in Florida regarding the capture or collection of wild turtles. I do know that certain species (all of the sea turtles, gopher tortoises, alligator snappers, etc) cannot be collected at all. Alligator snappers have recently been afforded complete protection although those with captives maintained prior to legislation can apply for a free permit that registers their animals.
Box turtles cannot be collected for sale, nor can any of the map turtles, diamond-back terrapins and I think some other species...common snappers and soft-shelled turtles maybe?

As for the isolated populations (I assume you mean the Key mud turtles) you raise a great issue. I guess technically speaking they can now be collected for 'personal use'. Whatever that is. I could be wrong though.
 

Anthony P

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jan 16, 2012
Messages
2,162
Location (City and/or State)
Swamps, bogs, and vernal pools
Wow, I cannot believe they dropped this population like this. I would be careful posting this stuff on them going forward. Many turtle folks, especially Europeans love locale-specific animals, especially ones with morphologically different traits like this. Wow. I am floored by these guys, Carl. You've got me wondering how theTurtleRoom can get an assurance colony together in case they don't end up doing very well in the wild. "The Chances of the World Changing..."
 

cdmay

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 1, 2008
Messages
1,945
Location (City and/or State)
Somewhere in Florida
Wow, I cannot believe they dropped this population like this. I would be careful posting this stuff on them going forward. Many turtle folks, especially Europeans love locale-specific animals, especially ones with morphologically different traits like this. Wow. I am floored by these guys, Carl. You've got me wondering how theTurtleRoom can get an assurance colony together in case they don't end up doing very well in the wild. "The Chances of the World Changing..."

Yeah I've also wondered about posting such info. I did so in this case though because it illustrates the lack of long term thinking by government agencies.

It reminds me of this situation back in the late 70s when I was a Reserve Officer for the old Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission (now the Florida Wildlife Commission): Game Commission biologists were working to introduce the South American cichlids known as peacock bass to south Florida canals in hopes that they would create a new fishery for sportsmen.
But there were strict laws against people keeping these very same fish in their aquariums because of the risk of them escaping into the canal systems and screwing up the ecosystem. Yet at the very same time, new laws were created that strictly forbade any fishermen from taking any peacock bass they caught...they had to be released unharmed immediately as wildlife officials were trying to establish populations of these fish.
So the Game Commission was simultaneously protecting the environment from the very same fish that they were spending millions of dollars to contaminate the environment with!
Government at work.
 
Top