Sternotherus is a genus of turtles in the family Kinosternidae including six species commonly known as musk turtles. The genus is endemic to North America, occurring in the eastern third of the US and southeast Ontario, Canada. Musk glands positioned near the bridge of the shell can produce foul smelling secretions when the turtles are threatened, although gentle handling does not normally provoke a response. Sternotherus are moderately small turtles, with the largest species in the genus, the razor-backed musk turtle (S. carinatus), attaining a maximum of 17.6 cm. in shell length. The carapace is characteristically oval and domed (an exception being the flattened musk turtle, S. depressus), with most species having one or three keels on the back which may become smoother and obscure with age in some species. Musk turtles are generally drab in color, mostly black, gray, brown, olive, or ocher, which aid in camouflaging them in their natural habitats. The head is relatively large and stout, marked with spots, streaks, or strips. The plastron has only 10 or 11 scutes, as opposed to 12, a more common condition in North American turtles. The tail is short, with males having a horny claw like tip.
Sternotherus are largely aquatic, however some species frequently bask on fallen logs or rocks emerging from the water, and eastern musk turtles (S. odoratus) occasionally leave the water to forage. Sternotherus are omnivorous and opportunistic generalist in their diet, although inclining toward being carnivorous, with mollusks (gastropods and bivalves) and insects making up a significant percentage of their diet. Some older adults develop large musculature on the head and expanded, crushing jaw surfaces aiding in the consumption of mollusk. Musk turtles are oviparous with females producing one to six clutches a year. The typical clutch size is two to four eggs, although clutches may range from one to 13. The sex of the hatchlings is determined by the incubation temperature. The eggs are deposited in shallow nest excavated on the banks or in woodlands a few meters from the water. Eggs may be laid singly, or in groups, and some species are known to share communal nesting areas.[2]: 471–472, 511–535 pp.
^"Sternotherus ". ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
^Ernst, Carl, H. and Jeffrey E. Lovich. 2009. Turtles of the United States and Canada, 2nd. Ed. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore, MD. xii, 827 pp. ISBN 0-8018-9121-3
John Edward Gray created the genus Sternotherus to include species of musk turtles, and it became Sternotherus odoratus. The species has been redescribed...
(1): 22–24. (Sternotherus peltifer, new species). Media related to Sternotherus minor at Wikimedia Commons. Data related to Sternotherus minor at Wikispecies...
the same is suspected to be true of Claudius as well. Kinosternon and Sternotherus have temperature-dependent sex determination as is typical of turtles...
moschata), the African civet (Civettictis civetta), the musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus), the American alligator of North America, lynx musk, lungurion...
turtle, the sea turtle Caretta caretta Loggerhead musk turtle, the turtle Sternotherus minor Loggerhead kingbird, the passerine bird Tyrannus caudifasciatus...
well as other turtle species (Pseudemys nelsoni, Kinosternon sp., and Sternotherus odoratus) laying their eggs in American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)...
remains of turtles. The main species found were common musk turtles (Sternotherus odoratus), diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) and juvenile common...
"Factors Affecting Coastal Wetland Occupancy for Eastern Musk Turtles (Sternotherus odoratus) in Georgian Bay, Lake Huron". Herpetologica. 74 (3). Herpetologists'...
genera of aquatic turtles, all in the New World family Kinosternidae: Sternotherus, the musk turtles proper Staurotypus, variously called Mexican, three-keeled...
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