Keeled Musk Turtle

Maximum longevity: 29.3 years (captivity)

Continent: North-America
Distribution: USA (Gulf Coastal Plain of SE Oklahoma, C/S Arkansas, Mississippi, E Texas, Louisiana)
Type locality: "Louisiana"; restricted to "vicinity of New Orleans," Louisiana, U.S.A., by Schmidt (1953:87).

Goniochelys triquetra Agassiz, 1857

[= Sternotherus carinatus (Gray, 1856 [1855]); fide, Boulenger, 1889:38, Stejneger, 1923:2, Iverson, 1979:226.1, Zug, 1986:397.1]

Agassiz, 1857, Contrib. Nat. Hist. U.S. America (Testudinata), p. 423; pl. 5: figs. 20–22.

Syntype: USNM 2 (lost, dry stuffed shell, sex unknown), collected by B. L. Chase at the type locality, May 1852 (see “Remarks”).

Type Locality: “Lake Concordia, in Louisiana” [Concordia Parish, Louisiana].

Other Type Material: Syntypes: MCZ 15085–86, 46634–35 (see “Remarks”).

Etymology: The name triquetra is from the Latin triquetrus, having three corners or a triangular shape; refers to the taxon’s triangular appearance when viewed from the front or rear.

Remarks: Syntypes are not listed by catalog number in the original description. Agassiz (1857:423) stated that he “was indebted for specimens to Prof. Baird, Mr. B. Chase and Prof. Wailes” and that “several specimens from the same source are preserved in the Museum of the Essex Institute in Salem” [Massachusetts]. Syntypes MCZ 46634–35 were returned to the MCZ from the Essex Institute in 1942 (In Litt., Jose M. Rosado to R. P. Reynolds, 6 Jun 2005). The syntype USNM 2 was apparently lost before Yarrow (1882) prepared his checklist, as it is not mentioned in the list of specimens of Aromochelys (= Sternotherus) carinata on page 30.

Kinosternon abaxillare Baur, in Stejneger, 1925:462

[= Kinosternon scorpioides abaxillare Baur, in Stejneger, 1925:462; fide, Berry, 1979:3186, Berry and Iverson, 2001b:725.2]

Stejneger, 1925, J. Washington Acad. Sci. 15(20):463.

Holotype: USNM 7518 (adult male shell, lost), collected by Dr. C. H. Berendt, 1863 or 1864 (see “Remarks”).

Type Locality: “Tuxtla, Chiapas, Mexico”; amended to “Tuxtla [Gutiérrez], Chiapas, Mexico” (Berry and Iverson, 2001b:5).

Paratypes: USNM 7519 (dry female shell, CL 122 mm); USNM 7520 (dry shell, sex unknown, lost); USNM 7521 (dry shell, sex unknown, CL 93 mm); USNM 7523 (dry shell, sex unknown, CL 120 mm); USNM 7524 (dry shell, sex unknown, CL 118 mm); USNM 7525 (dry shell, sex unknown, CL 117 mm); USNM 7526 (dry shell, sex unknown, CL 133 mm); USNM 7527 (dry shell, sex unknown, CL 113 mm); USNM 7528 (dry male shell, CL 124 mm); and USNM 7529 (dry plastron and partial carapace, sex unknown, PL 113 mm). All paratypes collected at the type locality by Dr. C. H. Berendt. The collection dates are unknown, but probably the entire type series was collected in 1863–1864. All paratypes were cataloged on 6 Feb 1870 (see “Remarks”).

Other Type Material: Paratype: MCZ 66964 (formerly USNM 7522, sent to the MCZ on 15 Nov 1961).

Etymology: The term abaxillare is from the Latin prefix ab, from or away, and axillaris, axilla or armpit, referring to the absence of an axillary scute on the shell bridge.

Remarks: Stejneger (1925:462) credits the taxon to Georg Baur, from whose manuscript note he abstracted the diagnosis. Although no paratypes were designated in the original description, Baur, in Stejneger (1925:462), based his description on twelve shells in the Smithsonian collection collected by Dr. C. H. Berendt. Cochran (1961:231) cited USNM 7519–29 as paratypes. They were taken at the type locality by the collector of the holotype. Both the holotype, USNM 7518, and the paratype, USNM 7520, have been lost; neither was found during the Dry Type Inventory of 1992. The holotype was present in the collection in 1958 when John Legler examined and photographed it (pers. comm., John M. Legler to George R. Zug, 10 Nov 1993). Copies of these photos are archived in the Division of Amphibians and Reptiles. Presumably it was present in the collection when Doris Cochran published her type catalog in 1961, because she included only specimens that were in collection. John B. Iverson, however, stated that he examined the entire K. abaxillare type series except the holotype, which was not present, when he visited the USNM collection in June 1975 (pers. comm., John B. Iverson to R. P. Reynolds, 3 Nov 1993). Berry and Iverson (2001b:725.5) reported that they had examined the paratypes USNM 7519–29. However, John B.Iverson recently stated that the report is in error and that they did not see USNM 7520 (In Litt., John B. Iverson to R. P. Reynolds, 28 Mar 2007).

The razor-backed musk turtle (Sternotherus carinatus) is a species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is native to the southern United States. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.