Secondary Sexual Differences and Notes on the Mud Turtle, Kinosternon Subrubum in Northern Indiana
Grant C. 1935. Secondary Sexual Differences and Notes on the Mud Turtle, Kinosternon Subrubum in Northern Indiana. The American Midland Naturalist. 16(5):798-800
Anatomical differences in the sexes of the musk turtle, Sternothercus odoratus, similar to those of the mud turtle have been recorded by Hallowell (1856), Agassiz (1857), and Hay (1892) who found that the male had a much larger and heavier tail, bearing a nail at the tip; that its plastron was concave, and that it bore patches of horny scales on thigh and lower leg. Risley (1930) basing his conclusions on a study of 60 specimens adds, again for the male; a relatively longer plastron; wider head; more skin between plastral scures; plastral scutes smaller and no difference in color or length of carapace. This paper on the mud turtle is based on the study of 21 females and 14 males, all mature, taken in Jasper, Pulaski, Starke, and Porter Counties, Indiana.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Grant, Chapman
- Units
- SODN
- Keywords
- Herpetology, mud turtle