Cora Mud Turtle (Kinosternon cora)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 242534692

Assessing population, habitat use, and threats of Critically Endangered Cora Mud Turtle (Kinosternon cora).

It has not been more than five years since its description (Loc-Barragán et al. 2020. Zootaxa 48885(4):509–529) and recently, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the Cora Mud Turtle (Kinosternon cora) on position of Critically Endangered, resulting from major conservation challenges such as illegal traffic by export trade and the loss of natural capital in aquatic habitats (Loc-Barragán et al. 2025. IUCN Red List in press). To date, only 47 individuals of K. cora studied in the wild are known, which share new data on geographic range expansion and morphometry (Loc-Barragán and Iverson 2025. Herpetol. Rev., in press), however, it has not been possible to know more data on its life history, The 47 known individuals, as well as its geographic range, continue to be restricted, being an endemic species of Western Mexico in the coastal plain province between Sinaloa and Nayarit. K. cora occurs along the Pacific Coastal Plain of Mexico, known from 15 localities as range was ca. 8,895 km2 (TTWG ,2025; in press), but the documented as an area of occupancy (AOO) of ca. 4,093 km2. Until now it has not been possible to know more information about its natural history, so long-term monitoring of the ecology of the population structure of K. cora will allow population projections to be made into the future. In this research, K. cora will monitoring is carried out to detect threats, understand conservation needs and promote its survival in the wild.