Thermal ecology of three potentially at-risk species of Mexican kinosternid turtles

Surprisingly little is known about the thermal ecology of Mexican kinosternid turtles. We studied the body temperatures of Kinosternon cora , K. durangoense , and K. herrerai from Mexico. Mean body temperatures of the three species were 25.0 °C for K. cora , 21.9 °C for K. durangoense , and 23.3 °C for K. herrerai . Body temperature (T b ) in K. cora were negatively related to water temperatures (T w ). Body temperatures in K. cora were lower than T w and the differences between T b and T w increased with T w . In both K. durangoense and K. herrerai , T b increased with both T a and T w . In K. durangoense , T b was higher than T w below ≈ 22 °C and lower than T w above ≈ 22 °C. In K. herrerai , T b was higher than T w below ≈ 23.5 °C and lower than T w above ≈ 23.5 °C. Males and females did not differ in T b in all three species. Our results suggest a role for environmental temperatures—especially water temperature—in determining body temperature in these three species of Mexican Kinosternon . However, our results also suggest that these turtles can maintain T b different from their aquatic habitat, suggesting at least a limited ability to thermoregulate.