Reptilia - Testudines - Kinosternoidea
Species name is Latin pugno for to fight, dispute, or battle with the past participle -atus. Refers to evidence that these tiny turtles could fend off attacks from much larger predators and survive
Full reference: J. R. Bourque. 2026. A small flat-shelled musk turtle from the Late Miocene of Florida and new Pleistocene records of Sternotherus (Kinosternidae). Historical Biology 1-42
Belongs to Sternotherus according to J. R. Bourque 2026
Sister taxa: Sternotherus bonevalleyensis, Sternotherus carinatus, Sternotherus depressus, Sternotherus minor, Sternotherus odoratus, Sternotherus palaeodorus
Type specimen: UF/VP 565006, a shell (associated carapace and plastron of an adult female (Figures 2–3) collected by JRB on 5 March 2019.). Its type locality is Montbrook, FLMNH site LV070, which is in a Hemphillian fluvial sandstone in Florida.
Ecology: aquatic durophage-piscivore
Distribution: found only at Montbrook, FLMNH site LV070
Specimen images are retrieved through the ePANDDA API.
Click image to enlarge. Click to access iDigBio record.