Kinosternon leucostomum
Silhouette: Emmanuel Jimenez · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The white-lipped mud turtle (Kinosternon leucostomum) is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to Central America and northwestern South America. The synonym, Cinosternon spurrelli Boulenger, 1913, which is a synonym of Kinosternon leucostomum postinguinale, was named in honor of British zoologist Herbert George Flaxman Spurrell.
Kinosternon leucostomum is found in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Kinosternon.
Boulenger GA (1889). Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhynchocephalians, and Crocodiles in the British Museum (Natural History). New Edition. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). x + 311 pp. + Plates I-III. (Cinosternon leucostomum, pp. 42–43).
Duméril AMC, Bibron... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇧🇿 Belize | |
| 2 | Pico Bonito National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 3 | Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Bastimentos Island National Marine Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 5 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Lago de Yojoa | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 7 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Tortuguero National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | Calakmul Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 11 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 12 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 13 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ecomuseum Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Zoo Atlanta | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Parque de la Conservación | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 4 | Parque museo La Venta | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | Aquarium of Veracruz | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | Zoo Samara | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 7 | Aquarium River of Zaragoza | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Acuario Inbursa | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
No species of the same family or order lives in Tortuguero National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-lipped Mud Turtle sighting in Tortuguero National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 25th most-seen of the 34 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May, August and December–March
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a White-lipped Mud Turtle in Tortuguero National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, June and September–November, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-lipped Mud Turtle sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
8th of 13
Of the 13 parks where we can rate White-lipped Mud Turtle sightings, Tortuguero National Park ranks 8th at about 10%. The best odds are in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary (Belize, about 40%), Pico Bonito National Park (Honduras, about 30%) and Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge (Costa Rica, about 20%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-lipped Mud Turtle is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Tortuguero National Park (11 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
