Loggerhead musk turtle

Loggerhead musk turtle
	Adult, in captivity
	Young turtle, Florida
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Kinosternidae
Genus:	Sternotherus
Species:	S. minor
Binomial name
	Sternotherus minor; (Agassiz, 1857)
Synonyms
	List Goniochelys minor ; Agassiz, 1857 ; Aromochelys minor ; — Strauch, 1862 ; Sternotherus minor ; — Stejneger, 1923 ; Sternotherus carinatus minor ; — Carr, 1952 ; Sternotherus minor minor ; — Tinkle & Webb, 1955 ; Sternothaerus minor minor ; — Tinkle, 1958 ; Sternotheraerus minor minor ; — Wharton & Howard, 1971 ; Kinosternon minor ; — Iverson, Ernst, Gotte & Lovich, 1989 ; Kinosternon minor minor ; — Ernst & R. Barbour, 1989 ;

The loggerhead musk turtle (Sternotherus minor) is a species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. This turtle has a large head which has a light-colored background with dark spots or stripes present on the head and neck.^[3] The average size of an adult loggerhead musk turtle is about 3–5 in (7.6–12.7 cm) in straight carapace length.^[3]

The species is native to the southern United States, being found in rivers, wetlands, and streams in the states of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.^[1]^[4]^[5] The diet of an adult loggerhead musk turtle consists mostly of clams and snails.^[6]^[7]

As of 2016 the conservation status of the loggerhead musk turtle is "Least Concern", and its common threats include habitat loss and human interactions such as car or boating accidents.^[1]

^ ^a ^b ^c van Dijk, P.P. (2016) [errata version of 2011 assessment]. "Sternotherus minor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T170493A97384102. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T170493A6781671.en. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
^ Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 262–263. doi:10.3897/vz.57.e30895. ISSN 1864-5755.
^ ^a ^b Buhlmann, Kurt A.; Tuberville, Tracey; Gibbons, Whit (2008). Turtles of the Southeast. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0-8203-2902-4. OCLC 263712429.
^ Species Sternotherus minor at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
^ Powell, Robert; Conant, Roger; Collins, Joseph T. (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America (Fourth ed.). Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9. OCLC 913923783.
^ Pfaller, Joseph Bryce (2009). Bite-Force Generation and Feeding Biomechanics in the Loggerhead Musk Turtle, Sternotherus minor: Implications for the Ontogeny of Performance (MSc thesis). Florida State University College of Arts and Sciences. S2CID 82423019. Retrieved 29 February 2024 – via DigiNole.
^ Cox, William A.; Wyatt, Steven T.; Wilhelm, Walter E.; Marion, Ken R. (December 1988). "Infection of the Turtle, Sternotherus minor, by the Lung Fluke, Heronimus mollis: Incidence of Infection and Correlations to Host Life History and Ecology in a Florida Spring". Journal of Herpetology. 22 (4): 488. doi:10.2307/1564348. ISSN 0022-1511. JSTOR 1564348.

[:2-1] van Dijk, P.P. (2016) [errata version of 2011 assessment]. "Sternotherus minor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T170493A97384102. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T170493A6781671.en. Retrieved 29 February 2024.

[Fritz_2007-2] Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 262–263. doi:10.3897/vz.57.e30895. ISSN 1864-5755.

[:0-3] Buhlmann, Kurt A.; Tuberville, Tracey; Gibbons, Whit (2008). Turtles of the Southeast. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0-8203-2902-4. OCLC 263712429.

[RDB-4] Species Sternotherus minor at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

[:8-5] Powell, Robert; Conant, Roger; Collins, Joseph T. (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America (Fourth ed.). Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9. OCLC 913923783.

[:7-6] Pfaller, Joseph Bryce (2009). Bite-Force Generation and Feeding Biomechanics in the Loggerhead Musk Turtle, Sternotherus minor: Implications for the Ontogeny of Performance (MSc thesis). Florida State University College of Arts and Sciences. S2CID 82423019. Retrieved 29 February 2024 – via DigiNole.

[:3-7] Cox, William A.; Wyatt, Steven T.; Wilhelm, Walter E.; Marion, Ken R. (December 1988). "Infection of the Turtle, Sternotherus minor, by the Lung Fluke, Heronimus mollis: Incidence of Infection and Correlations to Host Life History and Ecology in a Florida Spring". Journal of Herpetology. 22 (4): 488. doi:10.2307/1564348. ISSN 0022-1511. JSTOR 1564348.

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