Sonoran Mud Turtle
Kinosternon sonoriense
Body length: 3 1/8 - 6 1/2"
Diet: Insects, crustaceans, snails, fish, and frogs
This aquatic turtle is the true desert survivor. Small and secretive, it lives
in most desert areas where water occurs throughout the year, and is very tolerant
of poor water quality in drying pools.
Mud turtles probably do not currently occur at Tonto National Monument, but there
have been intriguing findings of their shells in recent years, including a fresh
shell found in 1996 in the Visitor center parking lot. This shell was possibly
carried up from Roosevelt Lake by a bird, but much older shells found in the cliff
dwellings were probably brought there by humans. Some shell fragments are burned,
suggesting the Salado ate their contents;
however, turtle shells were also made into rattles and jewelry.
NPS
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Updated
May 8, 2005