Reproduction
Kinosternids lay about four hard-shelled eggs during the late spring and early summer. After hatching, some species overwinter in the subterranean nest, emerging the following spring. Some adults also spend the winter on land, constructing a burrow with a small air hole used on warm days.
Kinosternids contain the only species of turtle known, or at least suspected, to exhibit parental care. Studies of the yellow mud turtle in Nebraska, USA, suggest females sometimes stay with the nest and may urinate on the eggs long after laying, to either keep them moist or to protect them from snake predation (by making them less palatable).
Read more about this topic: Kinosternidae
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