Mexican box turtle
{{Short description|Species of turtle}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Mexican Box Turtle (51194221099).jpg
| image_caption = Terrapene mexicana
| status = CITES_A2
| status_system = CITES
| status_ref = {{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}
| genus = Terrapene
| species = mexicana
| authority = (Gray, 1849)Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Inverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Roger, Bour (2011-12-31). [https://iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Accounts/crm_5_000_checklist_v4_2011.pdf Turtles of the world, 2011 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status] Chelonian Research Monographs. N. 5
|synonyms_ref=Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). [https://iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Articles/Fritz_and_Havas_2007.pdf "Checklist of Chelonians of the World"][http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Terrapene&species=mexicana The Reptile Database]
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true
| Cistudo (Onychotria) mexicana Gray, 1849
| Onychotria mexicana LeConte, 1854
| Cistudo carolina var. mexicana Boulenger, 1889
| Onichotria mexicana Herrera, 1890
| Chelopus mexicanus Velasco, 1892
| Terrapene mexicana Baur, 1893
| Terrapene goldmani Stejneger, 1933
| Terrapene mexicana mexicana H. M. Smith & Taylor, 1950
| Terrapene carolina mexicana Milstead, 1967
| Terapene mexicana mexicana Nietzke, 1973 }}
}}
The Mexican box turtle (Terrapene mexicana) is a species of box turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of Terrapene carolina (Terrapene carolina mexicana).
Geographic range
Habitat
It lives in areas with tropical climates within humid forests at shallow rainwater puddles.[http://www.herpetomania.it/PDF%20schede%20acquatiche/Terrapene%20carolina.pdf Herpetomania]{{ in lang|it}}
Description
Terrapene mexicana can reach a length of about {{cvt|18|-|20|cm}}. The carapace is long and dome-shaped, with rather variable color and markings. The adult males show gray-blue nuances on the head and red or orange nuances on the front legs.
Biology
The Mexican box turtle does not have much information on them because very few of them are domesticated (kept as pets). However, we do know that they have a lifespan of 100 years. Usually these turtles have water nearby homes and a bush to hide. Having a home by the water will attract insects, which are a big part of their diet.
Gallery
Image: Emydidae - Terrapene mexicana (Mexican Box Turtle) (2).jpg|Terrapene mexicana at the Zoo Atlanta
Image:Terrapene carolina mexicana.jpg|A Mexican box turtle on display in Gothenburg Natural History Museum
Image: CistudoMexicanaFord.jpg|Illustration from Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1848-1849
File:Terrapene mexicana, Mexican Box Turtle, Tamaulipas.jpg|Mexican box turtle (Terrapene mexicana) in the field in southern Tamaulipas, Mexico
;Bibliography
- Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Inverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Roger, Bour (2011-12-31). "Turtles of the world, 2011 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status". Chelonian Research Monographs. 5.
- Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57
- Dodd, C. Kenneth. North American Box Turtles a Natural History. University of Oklahoma Press, 2002.
- Milstead, William W., and Donald W. Tinkle. "Terrapene of Western Mexico, with Comments on the Species Groups in the Genus". Copeia, vol. 1967, no. 1, 1967, p. 180., {{doi|10.2307/1442193}}
- Stone, Lynn M. Nature Watch: Box Turtles. Lynn M. Stone, 2007.
References
{{Wikispecies}}
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons}}
- [http://www.boxturtles.com/mexican-box-turtle/ Box Turtles]
{{Emydidae}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q3816968|from2=Q27671560}}
Category:Reptiles described in 1849
Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray
{{Turtle-stub}}