The Turtles of Mexico is the first comprehensive guide to the biology, ecology, evolution, and distribution of more than fifty freshwater and terrestrial turtle taxa found in Mexico. Legler and Vogt draw on more than fifty years of fieldwork to elucidate the natural history of these species. The volume includes an extensive introduction to turtle anatomy, taxonomy, phylogeny, biogeography, and physiology. A key to the turtles of Mexico is included along with individual species accounts featuring geographic distribution maps and detailed color illustrations. Specific topics discussed for each species include habitat, diet, feeding behavior, reproduction, predators, parasites, growth and ontogeny, sexual dimorphism, growth rings, economic use, conservation, legal protection, and taxonomic studies. This book is a complete reference for scientists, conservationists, and professional and amateur enthusiasts who wish to study Mexican turtles. "This volume is the first thorough coverage of the taxonomy, life history, and ecology of all species of Mexican turtles; The worldwide issue of turtle conservation will be greatly served with this thorough presentation. . . . All land managers, conservation biologists, and herpetologists interested in Mexican biodiversity or turtles in particular should have a copy of this comprehensive coverage of an important group of animals." -- Bernd Heinrich ― The Quarterly Review of Biology Published On: 2015-06-01 For the first time, we have a synthesis of the biology of Mexican turtles. Legler and Vogt have combined their half century of field and laboratory studies with others' knowledge and written an exciting, encyclopedic, and readable source book on all aspects of Mexican turtle natural history."--George Zug, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution "This definitive and scholarly treatment of Mexican turtle biology sets the new standard for books on regional and national turtle faunas."--Joseph C. Mitchell, co-editor of Urban Herpetology “For the first time, we have a synthesis of the biology of Mexican turtles. Legler and Vogt have combined their half century of field and laboratory studies with others' knowledge and written an exciting, encyclopedic, and readable source book on all aspects of Mexican turtle natural history."--George Zug, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution "This definitive and scholarly treatment of Mexican turtle biology sets the new standard for books on regional and national turtle faunas."--Joseph C. Mitchell, co-editor of Urban Herpetology John M. Legler is Professor Emeritus of Biology at The University of Utah, Salt Lake City. Richard C. Vogt is a researcher at the National Institute for Amazonia Research, in Manaus, Brazil. The Turtles of Mexico Land and Freshwater Forms By John M. Legler, Richard C. Vogt UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Copyright © 2013 The Regents of the University of California All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-520-26860-9 Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, IX, TURTLES: A PARADIGM OF VARIABILITY, VENERABILITY, AND VULNERABILITY, 1, Introduction, 3, Materials and Methods Used for This Book, 15, Structure and Function, 19, Natural History, 35, Turtles, Humans, and Research, 47, Field and Laboratory Techniques, 53, Modern Taxonomic Studies and Techniques, 59, ACCOUNTS OF TAXONOMIC GROUPS, 61, A Key to the Families and Genera of Mexican Chelonians (Excluding the Sea Turtles), 62, Superfamily Trionychoidea, 65, Family Dermatemydidae, 67, Family Kinosternidae, 77, Family Trionychidae, 183, Subfamily Trionychinae 184, Superfamily Testudinoidea, 201, Family Testudinidae, 203, Family Emydidae, 231, Family Geoemydidae, 337, Superfamily Chelydroidea, 353, Family Chelydridae, 355, LITERATURE CITED, 365, INDEX, 393, CHAPTER 1 TURTLES A PARADIGM OF VARIABILITY, VENERABILITY, AND VULNERABILITY Introduction Objectives This book concerns the diverse chelonian fauna of Mexico: 15 families, 14 genera, 38 species, and 66 terminal taxa of freshwater and terrestrial chelonians occurring within the political boundaries of Mexico (Los Estados Unidos de Mexico). These represent all of the families of nonmarine cryptodires that occur in the Western Hemisphere. The authors of this book (hereinafter JML and RCV) have a cumulative experience of nearly a century with chelonian studies in general and with Mexican turtles in particular. Smith and Smith (1979) gave complete and accurate synonymies for all Mexican testudinates and we make no attempt to do so. The current book makes no significant taxonomic decisions; it attempts to present an account of the species occurring in Mexico with easily used keys and distribution maps, and to cover what is known of their natural history. Our use of recent nomenclature at the genus and species level, where there is a choice, is conservative. We have tried to separate the identification of specimens from the diagnosis of ta