Kinosternon sonoriense

See Iverson et al. (1991) for a phylogenetic analysis of kinosternine turtles.

This species is restricted to the southeastern United States and northern Mexico. Population size may be less than 10,000 individuals. It is highly threatened by water quality and availability, as well as invasive species.

The range includes the southwestern United States and northern Mexico (Ernst and Lovich 2009, Turtle Taxonomy Working Group 2017). In northern Mexico, it is found in the northern parts of the states of Sonora (Lemos Espinal et al. 2019) and Chihuahua (Lemos Espinal et al. 2017). In the United States, it is known from three counties (Catron, Grant, Hidalgo) in southwestern New Mexico (Stone et al. 2014, Painter et al. 2017) and throughout much of southern Arizona (Turtle Taxonomy Working Group 2017). This species historically occupied a small part of southeastern California, but is now considered extirpated from the state (Turtle Taxonomy Working Group 2017). The subspecies K. sonoriense longifemorale has a disjunct range restricted to the Sonoyta River in southern Arizona, USA and northern Sonora, Mexico (Riedle et al. 2012). Using records from post-2004 (the past 20 years) from Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF 2024), range extent was estimated to be approximately 301,217 km² (GeoCat 2024).

There are several dozen occurrences of K. s. sonoriense (Turtle Taxonomy Working Group 2017, Araya Donoso et al. 2022). There are also eight sites where K. s. longifemorale occurs, which probably constitute less than five occurrences (Riedle et al. 2012).

The two biggest threats to this species are water loss and invasive species (Rosen 2008, Ernst and Lovich 2009, Drost et al. 2021, Araya Donoso et al. 2022). Increased water usage and diversion by humans is drying up habitats in some areas (Ernst and Lovich 2009). Additionally, droughts cause pools of water to dry out, reducing habitat (Ernst and Lovich 2009, Hensley et al. 2010). Butler et al. (2016) predicted suitable habitat would remain essentially unchanged for this species while Berriozabal Islas et al. (2020) predict suitable habitat will decline by an estimated 34.82% by 2070.

Invasive species are another major threat to this species (Araya Donoso et al. 2022). Four such invasive species are native to other parts of North America but not native to this species’ range. Two invasive crayfish species, Faxonius virilis and Procambarus clarkii, are predators on hatchlings and suspected of being responsible for some declines (Fernandez and Rosen 1996, Schwendiman 2001, Rosen 2008, Hensley et al. 2010, Araya Donoso et al. 2022). Invasive American bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeiana) are also predators on hatchlings (Ernst and Lovich 2009, Akins and Jones 2010, Araya Donoso et al. 2022). The presence of invasive pond sliders (Trachemys scripta) has been shown to cause declines in this species through competition for basking sites (Drost et al. 2021). Many populations impacted by invasive species will likely continue to decline (Araya Donoso et al. 2022, Drost et al. 2021, Hensley et al. 2010).

Water quality issues, such as pollution caused by effluents from domestic and agricultural sources, are an ongoing threat in parts of this species’ range (Ernst and Lovich 2009, Hamdhani et al. 2020). Habitat modification and urbanization are also moderate threats (Rosen 2008, Ernst and Lovich 2009). Mexico Highway 2 separates populations in Mexico and the United States (Riedle et al. 2012).