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DOI10.47051/UMFV8346 Published December 21, 2022. Open access.

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White-lipped Mud Turtle (Kinosternon leucostomum)

Reptiles of Ecuador | Testudines | Kinosternidae | Kinosternon leucostomum

English common name: White-lipped Mud Turtle.

Spanish common names: Tortuga tapa-rabo de la costa, tapaculo (Ecuador); tapaculo, culitapa, tortuga casquito, tortuga pecho quebrado de labios blancos (Colombia).

Recognition: ♂♂ 21.4 cmMaximum straight length of the carapace. ♀♀ 20.8 cmMaximum straight length of the carapace..¹ The White-lipped Mud Turtle (Kinosternon leucostomum) can be distinguished from other Kinosternon species based on the following combination of characters: carapace brown and smooth in adults or with a single keel in hatchlings and juveniles.^2–5 There is a light band that extends from the tip of the mouth to the neck, passing above the eye. The mandibles are light yellow. Females tend to have shorter tails and their upper jaw is not hooked like that of males, and the plastron is rather slightly convex (concave in males).³ This species differs from turtles of the genus Rhinoclemmys by being smaller and having a moveable hinge in the plastron.^2–4

Figure 1: Individuals of Kinosternon leucostomum from Canandé Reserve, Esmeraldas province, Ecuador (); Guayas province, Ecuador (); La Sexta, Pichincha province, Ecuador (), Morromico Reserve, Chocó departmnet, Colombia (); and Tundaloma Lodge, Esmeraldas province, Ecuador (). ad=adult, j=juvenile.

Natural history: UncommonUnlikely to be seen more than once every few months. in land to frequentRecorded weekly in densities below five individuals per locality. along some water bodies. The abundance of Kinosternon leucostomum is linked to the availability of food and the presence of predators.³ These turtles occur primarily well-preserved freshwater habitats ranging from swamps and marshes to slow-moving rivers,^3,4 but they also occur in brackish waters, estuaries, and heavily contaminated streams.^6,7 They are aquatic, terrestrial, and nocturnal and spend the day hidden under fallen branches, among floating vegetation in the water, or buried in the substrate at the base of plants.^3,8,9 Individuals are occasionally seen moving on land far from water.⁴ In large rivers, they are found between 2–3 m from the edge and at depths between 0.5 and 3 m.¹⁰ White-lipped Mud Turtles that inhabit seasonally dry areas estivate by burying themselves and then reactivate with the first rains; while in regions without seasonality they are active year-round.¹¹

White-lipped Mud Turtles are omnivores and feed in shallow waters. Their diet includes a wide variety of algae, grasses, leaves, seeds, roots, snails, freshwater crustaceans, insects, tadpoles, and small reptiles, mammals, and carrion.^12–15 Their home range is linear in shape and 50–200 meters in length, but they also perform movements of more than 600 m to reach aestivation or nesting areas.³

Females reach sexual maturity when they are about 10 cm in carapace length, while males mature at 12 cm carapace length.² Reproductive activity in Kinosternon leucostomum takes place in the afternoons and evenings, and the breeding season varies across localities or be can continuous throughout the year.^7,11 Courtship is initiated by the female and copulation lasts approximately 20 minutes.^3,4 Males are aggressive and territorial during the breeding months. It is estimated that there is one sexually mature male for each 3–4 fertile females.¹⁶ Clutches consist of 1–6 (usually 1–2) eggs.⁷ These are large and have thick shells, measure 30–41 mm x 17–22 mm, and have an average weight of 9 g. The female deposits them in depressions in the ground and covers them with leaf-litter or hides them under logs and branches.^3,7 Incubation time is 60–265 days (about 2–9 months)⁷ and temperature determines the sex of offspring.¹⁷ In Mexico, temperatures above 27 °C produce females.³

Conservation: Least Concern Believed to be safe from extinction given current circumstances..^18,19 Kinosternon leucostomum is listed in this category given its wide distribution over areas that have not been heavily affected by deforestation, including the entire Colombian Pacific coast and major ecological reserves in Ecuador: Cotacachi Cayapas, Cayapas Mataje, and Mache Chindul. Therefore, the species is considered to be facing no major immediate extinction threats. Although some populations in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama appear to be stable, those outside protected areas in Ecuador and some parts of Colombia are declining due to habitat loss and indiscriminate harvesting.^2,3 Adult turtles are hunted for medicinal use, carving of handicrafts, consumption, or to be used or sold as pets.^3,9,20

Distribution: Kinosternon leucostomum is native to an estimated 677,999 km² area in the Chocó–Río Magdalena valley and Mesoamerica biogeographic regions.¹ The species occurs throughout the Atlantic lowlands of southeastern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia, as well as on the Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador. In Ecuador, K. leucostomum has been recorded at elevations between 0 and 1374 m (Fig. 2).

Figure 2: Distribution of Kinosternon leucostomum in Ecuador. See Appendix 1 for a complete list of the presence localities included in the map.

Etymology: The generic name Kinosternon, which comes from the Greek words kinetos (meaning “movable”) and sternon (meaning “chest”),²¹ refers to the hinged plastron. The specific epithet leucostomum, which is derived from the Greek words leukos (meaning “white”) and stoma (meaning mouth),²¹ refers to the pale lip coloration.

See it in the wild: Since Kinosternon leucostomum is semi-aquatic and nocturnal, turtles of this species are most easily located by walking along the shores of muddy water bodies. During the day, White-lipped Mud Turtles may be found hidden under branches, leaves, trunks, or in small holes along water bodies. In Ecuador, this species is labeled as being common in reserves Canandé and Itapoa, Esmeraldas province.

Authors: Gabriela Sandoval^aAffiliation: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador. and Alejandro Arteaga^bAffiliation: Khamai Foundation, Quito, Ecuador.

Photographers: Jose Vieira^cAffiliation: Tropical Herping (TH), Quito, Ecuador.^,dAffiliation: ExSitu, Quito, Ecuador. and Alejandro Arteaga^bAffiliation: Khamai Foundation, Quito, Ecuador.

How to cite? Sandoval G, Arteaga A (2022) White-lipped Mud Turtle (Kinosternon leucostomum). In: Arteaga A, Bustamante L, Vieira J (Eds) Reptiles of Ecuador: Life in the middle of the world. Available from: www.reptilesofecuador.com. DOI: 10.47051/UMFV8346

Literature cited:

1. Rhodin AGJ, Iverson JB, Bour R, Fritz U, Georges A, Shaffer HB, van Dijk PP (2021) Turtles of the world: annotated checklist and atlas of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution, and conservation status. Chelonian Research Monographs 8: 1–472. DOI: 10.3854/crm.8.checklist.atlas.v9.2021
2. Rueda-Almonacid JV, Carr JL, Mittermeier RA, Rodríguez-Mahecha JV, Mast RB, Vogt RC, Rhodin AGJ, de la Ossa-Velásquez J, Rueda JN, Mittermeier CG (2007) Las tortugas y los cocodrilianos de los países andinos del trópico. Conservación Internacional, Bogotá, 538 pp.
3. Giraldo A, Garcés-Restrepo MF, Carr JL (2012) Kinosternon leucostomum. In: Páez VP, Morales-Betancourt MA, Lasso CA, Castaño-Mora OV, Bock BC (Eds) Biología y conservación de las tortugas continentales de Colombia. Serie Editorial Recursos Hidrobiológicos y Pesqueros Continentales de Colombia, Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt (IAvH), Bogotá, 332–339.
4. Savage JM (2002) The amphibians and reptiles of Costa Rica, a herpetofauna between two continents, between two seas. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 934 pp.
5. Berry JF (1978) Variation and systematics in the Kinoternon scorpioides and K. leucostomum complexes (Reptilia: Testudines: Kinosternidae) of Mexico and Central America. PhD thesis, The University of Utah, 323 pp.
6. Ceballos CP, Zapata D, Alvarado C, Rincón E (2016) Morphology, diet, and population structure of the Southern White-lipped Mud Turtle Kinosternon leucostomum postinguinale (Testudines: Kinosternidae) in the Nus River drainage, Colombia. Journal of Herpetology 50: 374–380. DOI: 10.1670/15-035
7. Giraldo A, Garcés-Restrepo MF, Carr JL (2013) Kinosternon leucostomum (Duméril y Bibron en Duméril y Duméril 1851). Catálogo de Anfibios y Reptiles de Colombia 1: 45–49.
8. Field notes, Reptiles of Ecuador book project.
9. Carr JL, Almendáriz A, Simmons JE, Nielsen MT (2014) Subsistence hunting for turtles in northwestern Ecuador. Acta Biológica Colombiana 19: 401–413. DOI: 10.15446/abc.v19n3.42886
10. Morales-Verdeja SA, Vogt RC (1997) Terrestrial movements in relation to aestivation and the annual reproductive cycle of Kinosternon leucostomum. Copeia 1997: 123–130. DOI: 10.2307/1447847
11. Acuña-M. RA (1998) Las tortugas continentales de Costa Rica. Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, 96 pp.
12. Vogt RC, Guzman Guzman S (1988) Food partitioning in a Neotropical freshwater turtle community. Copeia 1988: 37–47. DOI: 10.2307/1445920
13. Villa J (1973) A snake in the diet of a kinosternid turtle. Journal of Herpetology 7: 380–381.
14. Berry JF, Iverson JB (2001) Kinosternon leucostomum (Duméril and Bibron) White-lipped Mud Turtle. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 724: 1–8.
15. Vargas-Salinas F, Muñoz-Avila JA, Morales-Puentes ME (2019) Biología de los anfibios y reptiles en el bosque seco tropical del norte de Colombia. Editorial UPTC, Tunja, 484 pp. DOI: 10.19053/978-958-660-341-6
16. Bonin F, Devaux B, Dupré A (2006) Tortugas del mundo. Lynx, Barcelona, 416 pp.
17. Ewert MA, Nelson CE (1991) Sex determination in turtles: diverse patterns and some possible adaptive values. Copeia 1991: 50–69. DOI: 10.2307/1446248
18. Morales-Betancourt MA, Lasso CA, Páez VP, Bock BC (2005) Libro rojo de reptiles de Colombia. Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá, 257 pp.
19. Reyes-Puig C (2015) Un método integrativo para evaluar el estado de conservación de las especies y su aplicación a los reptiles del Ecuador. MSc thesis, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, 73 pp.
20. Arango J, Patiño D, Benítez L, Botero A (2018) New records of Kinosternon leucostomum postinguinale (Duméril and Bibron, 1851) from the Central Cordillera of Colombia. Revista Colombiana de Ciencia Animal-RECIA: 82–85. DOI: 10.24188/recia.v10.n1.2018.635
21. Brown RW (1956) Composition of scientific words. Smithsonian Books, Washington D.C., 882 pp.

Appendix 1: Locality data used to create the distribution map of Kinosternon leucostomum in Ecuador (Fig. 2). Go to the section on symbols and abbreviations for a list of acronyms used.

Country	Province	Locality	Source
Colombia	Cauca	Guapi	iNaturalist
Colombia	Chocó	Morromico Reserve	This work
Colombia	Nariño	Bajo Cumilinche	UPTC 025
Colombia	Nariño	Bellavista	Giraldo et al. 2013
Colombia	Nariño	Carretera San Jorge–Tumaco	Giraldo et al. 2013
Colombia	Nariño	CORPOICA	Pinto-Erazo et al. 2020
Colombia	Nariño	Dirección General Marítima (DIMAR)	Pinto-Erazo et al. 2020
Colombia	Nariño	El Palmichal	Pinto-Erazo et al. 2020
Colombia	Nariño	Estación Mar Agrícola	Pinto-Erazo et al. 2020
Colombia	Nariño	San Andrés de Tumaco	MLS 245
Colombia	Nariño	Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Nariño	Pinto-Erazo et al. 2020
Colombia	Valle del Cauca	Buenaventura	Berry 1978
Ecuador	Azuay	La Maravilla	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Cañar	Manta Real	Cogalniceanu et al. 2015
Ecuador	Chimborazo	Cumandá	iNaturalist
Ecuador	El Oro	Arenillas	iNaturalist
Ecuador	El Oro	Balsas	iNaturalist
Ecuador	El Oro	Barbones	iNaturalist
Ecuador	El Oro	Bellamaría	iNaturalist
Ecuador	El Oro	El Guabo	iNaturalist
Ecuador	El Oro	La Finquita	iNaturalist
Ecuador	El Oro	La Iberia	iNaturalist
Ecuador	El Oro	Machala, Providencia	iNaturalist
Ecuador	El Oro	Platanillos	iNaturalist
Ecuador	El Oro	Puerto Bolívar	iNaturalist
Ecuador	El Oro	Remolinos	Garzón-Santomaro et al. 2019
Ecuador	El Oro	Reserva Biológica Buenaventura	Garzón-Santomaro et al. 2019
Ecuador	El Oro	Tillaes	iNaturalist
Ecuador	El Oro	Vía a Chilla	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Bilsa Biological Reserve	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Borbón, 6 km S of	Cogalniceanu et al. 2015
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Bosque Protector La Perla	Photo by Plácido Palacios
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Casa del Medio	This work
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Cerro Zapallo	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Concepción	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Cupa	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Durango, 5 km W of	Cogalniceanu et al. 2015
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	El Achote	Cogalniceanu et al. 2015
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Estero El Ceibo	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Hacienda Equinox	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Hacienda Erazo	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Hacienda La Molinita	Carr et al. 2014
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Itapoa	This work
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	La Boca	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Lote Rosero	This work
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Luis Vargas Torres	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Nueva Esperanza	Carr et al. 2014
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Palmera de los Andes	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Playa Grande	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Quinindé	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Río Bogotá	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Río Cachabi	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Río Durango	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Río Santiago	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	San José de Tagua	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Tundaloma Lodge	This work
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Vía Lita–San Lorenzo	DHMECN 5436
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Vía San Lorenzo–Rocafuerte	Cogalniceanu et al. 2015
Ecuador	Guayas	Capeira	Photo by Eduardo Zavala
Ecuador	Guayas	Cerro Masvale	Cogalniceanu et al. 2015
Ecuador	Guayas	Guayaquil	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Guayas	Guayaquil, Barrio San Eduardo	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Guayas	Guayaquil, Hogar de Cristo	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Guayas	Guayaquil, Parque Centenario	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Guayas	Guayaquil, Salado	USNM 94337
Ecuador	Guayas	Guayaquil, Sauces	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Guayas	Milagro	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Guayas	Puente Río Chimbo	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Guayas	Río Daule	Berry 1978
Ecuador	Guayas	Río Guayas	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Imbabura	El Corazón	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Los Ríos	Bosque Protector Pedro Franco Dávila	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Los Ríos	Centro Científico Río Palenque	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Los Ríos	Cruse de Baba	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Los Ríos	Intriago	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Los Ríos	Vinces	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Manabí	Cocosolo	Carlos Robles
Ecuador	Pichincha	El Monte Lodge	Tom Quesenberry
Ecuador	Pichincha	El Naranjal	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Pichincha	Hostería Arasari	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Pichincha	Kapari Lodge	This work
Ecuador	Pichincha	Mashpi Lodge	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Pichincha	Mindo	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Pichincha	Mindo, vía al Cinto	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Pichincha	Nanegal Grande	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Pichincha	Pedro Vicente Maldonado, 2 km E of	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Pichincha	Puerto Quito–La Sexta	This work
Ecuador	Pichincha	Quito, Vía Nanegal	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Pichincha	Rancho Suamox	Photo by Rafael Ferro
Ecuador	Pichincha	Río Cubera	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Pichincha	San Miguel de los Bancos, 6 km W of	Cogalniceanu et al. 2015
Ecuador	Pichincha	Santuario de Aves Rio Silanche	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas	Finca la Esperanza	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Ecuador	Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas	Finca La Floriana	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas	La Concordia	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas	La Independencia	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas	San Miguel de los Colorados	Carr & Almendáriz 1990
Peru	Tumbes	Reserva Nacional de Tumbes	Pritchard & Trebbau 1984

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