Yellow Mud Turtle
Kinosternon flavescens
OrderTestudines
FamilyKinosternidae
Habitatshallow, still or slow-moving water - ponds, cattle tanks, ditches, and ephemeral pools in open country
Seasonyear-round resident (active spring-fall, burrows to wait out heat and cold)
LocationBrewster County, Texas
Size~4-6 in / 10-16 cm (shell length)
Dietomnivore - aquatic insects, snails, crustaceans, tadpoles, small fish, carrion, and some plant matter
ConservationLeast Concern
CameraNikon Z9Lens400mmAperturef/8Shutter1/1250ISO800
About the Yellow Mud Turtle
A small, unassuming turtle of still and slow-moving Texas waters, its smooth olive-to-yellowish shell often caked in mud and blending perfectly into the pond bottoms it prowls. The pale yellow wash along its throat and neck gives the species its name. Hardy and secretive, the Yellow Mud Turtle thinks nothing of hauling out and wandering overland between shrinking pools, and when heat or cold sets in it simply burrows into mud or damp soil and waits the season out - a survivor built for the boom-and-bust waters of the plains.
Want to see a Yellow Mud Turtle in the wild?
Join one of my guided birding tours!
Join one of my guided birding tours!
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