Nesting and parental care in the mud turtle, Kinosternon flavescens

1990/02/01 by John B. Iverson · 2 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Amphibian and Reptile Biology #Animal Behavior and Reproduction #Turtle Biology and Conservation

paper · doi:10.1139/z90-034

openalex publication_date 1990/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Female yellow mud turtles (Kinosternon flavescens) in the Nebraska Sandhills nest while completely buried underground, and remain with their single annual clutch of eggs for 1 to more than 38 days. The annual incidence of nest attendance seems to be inversely correlated with rainfall between mid-May and mid-June. Egg mortality may be reduced by the effects of the female's presence on both predation on the eggs and soil moisture at the nest.

Cited by

• Movements and Demography of the Sonoran Mud Turtle, Kinosternon sonoriense
• Palaearctic species of the genus Confluaria Ablasov (Cestoda, Hymenolepididae): redescriptions of C. multistriata (Rudolphi, 1810) and C. japonica (Yamaguti, 1935), and a description of Confluaria sp.

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