Painted slider (Trachemys scripta) is Oaxaca's
most common and widespread turtle. El Tule, Oaxaca.

Turtles of Oaxaca - part 2

In addition to the sea turtles, Oaxaca has twelve freshwater turtle species. Most of them are now rare because of habitat loss.

Mexican wood turtle (Rh. pulcherrima), Laguna Chacahua Nat'l Park, Oaxaca.

Wood turtles (Rhinoclemmys) are particularly vulnerable: they are semi-terrestrial and inhabit upland rainforests. Most of rainforests in Oaxaca have already been converted to fields, pastures and scrubland.

Oaxacan wood turtle (Rh. rubida) is endemic to Western Mexico. Highway 200, Jalisco.

Mud turtles, left to right: white-lipped (Kinosternon leucostomum), Oaxacan (K. oaxacae), Amazon (K. scorpioides). Mar Muerte, Oaxaca.

Mexican mud turtle (K. integrum), Hormiguero, Campeche.

Mud turtles are more aquatic, but they love to travel, and often cross roads. If you want to improve your karma, go to Oaxaca: you can sometimes save 10-20 turtles in one night of backroad driving.

Mexican mud turtle (K. integrum), Hormiguero, Campeche.

Big-headed musk turtle (Claudis angustatus), Villa Luz, Tabasco.

Musk turtles are even more aquatic and seldom leave their lakes and ponds. Besides, some of them are too heavy to walk. They are very local in Oaxaca, and can be more easily seen in Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Chiapas, where large areas of swamp forest still exist.

Giant musk turtle (Staurotypus triprocatus), Villa Luz.

Pacific musk turtle (S. salvinii) on Central American river turtle
(Dermatemys mawii), Sierra de Tuxtlas, Oaxaca.

Back to part 1.

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