Creaser’s Mud Turtle (Kinosternon creaseri) in Belize

Posted by Paul Carter

SUMMARY: This record of Creaser’s Mud Turtle (Kinosternon creaseri), observed on 7 Dec 2021 at La Milpa (Northern Belize), appears to be the first record in Belize for a species regarded at the time as endemic to Mexico.

Paul Carter: paulcarter@pacapix.com
First posted at www.pacapix.com: 16 Jan 2022. Updates: 9 Jan 2025 (v1.2) and 25 June 2025 (v1.3).
Published on Zenodo (25 June 2025): DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15737396

Contents
a) Record Description and Images
b) Species notes
c) References

A. Record Description and Images

Date of observation: 7 December 2021 at 2.00 p.m.
Location: It was found on the track between La Milpa Ecolodge (Research Station) and the La Milpa Ruins. This site was 3 km west of the lodge and about 12 km ENE of the border point with Mexico and Guatemala.
Conditions: It was raining, and I was driving (with Chi Phan) when I saw a mud turtle scuttling across the track. I stopped the car, picked it up and because it was raining, I photographed it on the dashboard of the car, then put it back where I found it.
Description: The turtle had a noticeable beak; was about 9.5 cm long; and shows a curved anterior margin of the femoral scute (see images below). It appears to be Kinosternon creaseri.
iNat record: This record is posted on iNaturalist here. As of 25 June 2025 it is the only record for Belize on the Map of Life species page.

Creaser’s Mud Turtle (Cryptochelys creaseri) at La Milpa, Belize. Image #20211207-0053.
Creaser’s Mud Turtle (Cryptochelys creaseri); head on right side, at La Milpa. Image #20211207-0065.
Creaser’s Mud Turtle (Cryptochelys creaseri); Plastron view, at La Milpa, Belize. Image 20211207-0051.
Creaser’s Mud Turtle (Cryptochelys creaseri) at La Milpa, Belize. Image #20211207-0057.

B. Species Notes

Range:
The Red List Assessment (RLA) viewed in 2022 was dated 2007 and stated that “it has been recorded close to the border with Belize but not confirmed within that country” (van Dijk et al, 2007). An updated RLA by Díaz-Gamboa et al, 2025) now states that “The species also occurs in northern Belize close to the border of Quintana Roo”; the revised distribution map in the RLA includes La Milpa.
The Reptile Database in June 2025 still describes it as an endemic to Mexico with its range as “Mexico (Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Campeche)”.
The nearest record shown on iNaturalist (as at Jan 2022) is in Mexico but only 86 km to the northwest of this La Milpa record. The American Turtle Observatory is carrying out research on this species at the Puuc region of southern Yucatán (link).

Behaviour:
Iverson (1988) notes that “it apparently estivates below ground during most of the dry season, and is active primarily during the wet season when forest pools are present”. The American Turtle Observatory (2021) notes that it is “a little-known Yucatán endemic” that “resides in temporary forest pools, roadside ditches, and deep haltunes (natural pits and wells in limestone)”.

C. References

END. Link back Contents