First observations on courtship and nesting behavior of Kinosternon vogti (Testudines: Kinosternidae)

Kinosternon vogti is one of the most narrowly distributed kinosternid turtles in Mexico; it is apparently restricted to small streams and ponds in the urban area of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco and Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit. There is little information on the biology of this recently described and enda...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Rosales Martínez, Carlos Santiago, Bello Sánchez, Carlos Daniel, López Luna, Marco Antonio, Escobedo Galván, Armando H., Cupul Magaña, Fabio G.
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:Argentina
Recursos:Universidad Nacional de La Plata
Repositorio:SEDICI (UNLP)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:sedici.unlp.edu.ar:10915/153065
Acesso em linha:http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/153065
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Ciencias Naturales
Clutch Size
Laying Eggs Period
Mating
Mature Size
Vallarta Mud Turtle
Descrição
Resumo:Kinosternon vogti is one of the most narrowly distributed kinosternid turtles in Mexico; it is apparently restricted to small streams and ponds in the urban area of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco and Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit. There is little information on the biology of this recently described and endangered species, particularly regarding reproductive biology. We report reproductive behaviors on two mating pairs of K. vogti in captivity. Males exhibited combat for copulating with female. During courtship, the male blocks the female movements, the female bites male´s rostrum scute, the male displays titillation posture, and finally the male moves to position himself above the female. The reproductive season begins with courtship in August-September and ends with egg-laying in November-December. Six and two eggs per clutch (non-viable eggs; average size, n = 5: 28.83 ± 1.19 x 15.95 ± 0.55 mm). Minimal reproductive size of females and males were CL (carapace length) = 88.37 mm and CL = 78.7 mm, respectively.