This impressive turtle is found in southern Mexico and the northernmost reaches of Central America, including in Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. Appropriately named, the Mexican Giant Musk Turtle is the largest of all the musk and mud turtles, growing to almost 15 inches in length. It features a large, boldly-patterned head with intimidating jaws, with black speckles on whitish skin. This striking species is made even more so by the three distinct keels, or ridges, running down the length of its carapace.
The Mexican Giant Musk Turtle faces threats such as habitat destruction, alteration, and collection for the pet and food trades. Our surveys, research, and community engagement with the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education (BFREE) to monitor the populations of this species and engage and inform the local community, and Eduardo Reyes Grajales in Chiapas, Mexico, help us learn more about this threatened species and how we can protect it and its habitats.
Follow along throughout October to learn more about the turtles in Belize that need our help, and learn more about these turtles in the educational materials and webinars hosted by BFREE here!
- Pictured: Mexican Giant Musk Turtle
- Countries of Origin: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico
- Habitat: Wide variety of tropical still and slow-moving freshwater bodies, including lakes, oxbows, lagoons, ponds, reservoirs, swamps, marshes, creeks, floodplains, and rivers
- Wild Population: Unknown
- IUCN Red List Status: Near Threatened
- Threats: Habitat destruction, alteration, and degradation; collection for the pet and food trades and local consumption
Images by Eduardo Reyes Grajales.
