Kinosternon vogti
Vallarta Mud Turtle

    • Habitat:
      - Small, shallow wetlands with abundant aquatic vegetation
    • Threats:
      - Habitat loss for development
      - Road mortality
      - Poaching for the high-end pet trade
      - Small population size
    • Conservation Efforts:
      - Support Students Conserving Nature, a small, conservation nonprofit organization in Mexico
      - Population evaluation and monitoring
      - Developing and implementing conservation strategies and actions
      - Community outreach and engagement
    • Wild Population:
      - Decreasing
      - Considered the most endangered turtle species in the Western Hemisphere
    • Endangered Status:
      Critically Endangered

Fast Facts

This turtle was only recently described to science in 2018.

The males feature a bright yellow scale on their nose.

The Vallarta Mud Turtle is the smallest turtle in the world.

Species Snapshot

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The Vallarta Mud Turtle is a relatively new discovery: only described to science in 2018, and quickly categorized as the Western Hemisphere’s most endangered turtle species. The males feature a bright yellow scale on the tips of their noses. This tiny turtle is the smallest turtle in the world, reaching a max length of just four inches (10.2 centimeters).

To protect this tiny treasure, we support Students Conserving Nature, a conservation organization based in Puerta Vallarta that works to advocate for, research, and protect this species and other turtles in peril. This species is also protected from international trade under CITES Appendix I, and Critically Endangered under Mexican law.