Hurtado-Gómez et al. (2024) analyzed phylogeographic structure and taxonomic limits within the genus Kinosternon that demonstrated deep intrageneric divergences; they proposed the recognition of three subgenera: Kinosternon, Cryptochelys, and Thyrosternum. The subgenus Kinosternon was found to include K. abaxillare, K. acutum, K. chimalhuaca, K. cora, K. creaseri, K. herrerai, K. hirtipes, K. integrum, K. oaxacae, K. sonoriense, K. vogti, and K. scorpioides with its three subspecies, K. s. scorpioides, K. s. albogulare, and K. s. cruentatum, with the latter two recognized as probable separate species. Kinosternon alamosae was later assigned to the same subgenus based on morphology (J.B. Iverson, unpubl. data). TTWG (in press) agrees with this proposed taxonomy.

Kinosternon creaseri meets criteria for a Near Threatened (NT) listing on the IUCN Red List due to several compelling threats across its range under criteria A2c+4c. The main factors are the loss of forested habitat, increased habitat fragmentation of remaining forests for agriculture and development. Though not well understood, the species is confronted with the escalating threats posed by ongoing and irreversible habitat alteration, climate change, and development, notably the expansion of human activities, including urbanization, pollution, agriculture, and infrastructure projects, that are severely fragmenting its natural habitat. Such habitat loss directly impacts the species by disrupting essential temporary pools of limestone (haltunes) where populations congregate for feeding and breeding; and also disrupting surrounding areas where this species nests, having as a result an elevation in mortality rates. These threats are likely to continue and be exacerbated by climate change, causing further declines over the next many years. The cumulative impact of these threats necessitates urgent action for the conservation and management of the K. creaseri. Population assessments, long-term life history field studies, and confirmation of the occurrence of secure populations in protected areas would be desirable, to confirm whether Near Threatened is the proper current category for this species or whether it is approaching Vulnerable (VU) status. The species was previously assessed for the Red List as Least Concern (LC) (van Dijk et al. 2007).

Kinosternon creaseri is restricted to the mainland of the northern and central Yucatán Peninsula, primarily in the Mexican states of Quintana Roo, Yucatán, and Campeche. The species is not found on Isla Cozumel despite intensive searching in March 1979 and July 1982 (Legler and Vogt 2013). The species also occurs in northern Belize close to the border of Quintana Roo, and may occur in northern Guatemala close to the border of Campeche (TTWG 2021). An extralimital record from Tabasco (between Teapa and Tenosique; Flores-Villela et al. 1991) has been examined by Vogt and is not K. creaseri (Legler and Vogt 2013). The general ranges of K. acutum and K. creaseri may overlap at the base of the Yucatán Peninsula (southern Campeche and Quintana Roo; Lee 1996), but the species have not been found in microsympatry despite similarity of habitat preference (Legler and Vogt 2013). The species is widely distributed in the northern part of the Yucatán Peninsula, but its entire distribution and range margins are poorly understood, as are many aspects of its ecology (Macip-Ríos et al. 2018). The estimated historical indigenous range (area of occupancy, AOO) is 120,545 sq. km (TTWG 2021) and the estimated historical indigenous extent of occurrence (EOO) is 134,396 sq. km (TTWG in press). An estimate of current AOO of K. creaseri using a maximum entropy distribution model (MaxEnt) delineated a smaller potential AOO of 50,300 sq. km (Berriozabal-Islas et al. 2020).

The elevational limits of K. creaseri have not yet been evaluated. However, in the study carried out by Macip-Ríos et al. (2018) in the Puuc Hills region (27 km southwest of Oxkutzcab, Yucatán, Mexico) the maximum elevation point of the sampling area was 130 m asl. There are published records from the Museum of Zoology, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, unit Chetumal (ECOSUR), collected by Rogelio Cedeño Vázquez and collaborators, where adult specimens of both males and females were found at elevations of 125–130 m asl. The Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, in the state of Campeche, Mexico (Pozo de la Tijera 2021), represents the highest known area within the species' distribution, with an estimated elevation of 300 m asl. (984 feet). Exploring this specific location will help determine if there are any altitude-related constraints on the species.

Kinosternon creaseri was found to be locally abundant along the perimeter of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, north of Felipe Carrillo Puerto in central Quintana Roo (Cálderon-Mandujano et al. 2005). Iverson (1988) reported that K. creaseri primarily inhabits the wet region of the northeastern Yucatán Peninsula; however, more recently, isolated observations in the drier areas of northwestern Yucatán have provided evidence of a broader range (Buskirk 1997, Hernández-Gallegos et al. 2003, TTWG 2021).

Macip-Ríos et al. (2018) captured (by collapsible funnel traps), marked, and released 174 K. creaseri, including 170 turtles detected in seven haltunes during 445 hrs of trapping, and four adults detected in terrestrial habitats in the Puuc Hills region of Yucatán. Based on the number of unique individuals captured in each haltun, minimum turtle densities ranged from 0.8 to 3.6 turtles/sq. m of surface water available in the study site (Macip-Ríos et al. 2018). The abundance of hatchling and juvenile K. creaseri that Macip-Ríos et al. (2018) observed has been previously reported by Iverson (1988) and could be related to an explosive hatching process during the rainy season.

Habitat. Kinosternon creaseri inhabits shallow temporary pools less than 1.0 m deep in undisturbed forest, temporarily filled roadside ditches, bajos (temporary forest pools) and small pools of karst-derived shallow limestone depressions (locally referred to as sartenejas or haltunes) (Legler and Vogt 2013, Macip-Ríos et al. 2018). These limestone depressions appear to be an important habitat feature on the landscape where populations congregate for feeding and breeding, and they may facilitate growth across size classes. Iverson (1988) found K. creaseri in ditches, and prime natural habitat consists of wet season pools in mature forest. However, the species is rarely found in permanent water bodies such as cenotes or aguadas (large and permanent/semi-permanent bodies of water in the forest) (Iverson 1988).

Diet. Iverson (1988) identified snail shells, insect parts, and palm seeds in faeces (Legler and Vogt 2013). Macip-Ríos et al. (2018), reported K. creaseri feeding on a Rio Grande Leopard Frog (Lithobates berlandieri) while caught in a trap in a limestone solution pond in the Puuc Hills region 27 km southwest of Oxkutzcab, Yucatán. Under natural conditions they probably feed on anything that comes into, lives in, drops into, or is forced from a subterranean refugium by standing water (Legler and Vogt 2013).

Habits and Behavior. A key aspect of the Yucatán Peninsula that forces K. creaseri to have distinct habitats and behaviours compared to other Kinosternids is that their water sources are temporary and highly dispersed, as there are no rivers on the Yucatán Peninsula. A radio-telemetry study spanning 2018-2021 that aimed to document the movements and habitats of K. creaseri showed that turtles are commonly found on land traversing habitat to find new bodies of water, or to find a location to estivate (Enríquez-Mercado 2022). The species tends to make frequent terrestrial movements to highly dispersed water sources, and this is reflected in its home range sizes, which are larger (35.9 ± 58.44 ha, n = 5) compared to more terrestrial species like Rhinoclemmys areolata (29.5 ± 62.26 ha, n = 8) and Terrapene yucatana (12.78 ± 15.21 ha; n = 8; Enríquez-Mercado et al. in prep.). The species has also been observed making extremely large movements between consecutive relocations, with movements of 500 m being relatively common, and movements of more than 1 km being observed four times during a radio-telemetry study spanning 2018-2021 (Butterfield, unpubl. data). Few specimens have been recorded in open areas for agriculture; generally this species prefers optimal habitats without contamination and with surrounding vegetation (Díaz-Gamboa, unpubl. data).

Iverson (1988) hypothesized that K. creaseri spends most of the year buried underground and emerges only in the wet season, when there is sufficient rain to form pools. However, pools of limestone depressions (sartenejas or haltunes) are the only aquatic habitat that remains in the dry season, and when water is low, the limestone walls could trap turtles for several days or even months, until they are replenished by rainfall (Macip-Ríos et al. 2018). These limestone depressions appear to be an important habitat feature on the landscape where populations congregate for feeding, and potentially mating, and they may facilitate growth across size classes (Macip-Ríos et al. 2018).

Kinosternon creaseri exhibits terrestrial dormancy during the Yucatán winter-spring dry season (Iverson 1988, Buskirk 1993, Legler and Vogt 2013, Enríquez-Mercado 2022). Macip-Ríos et al. (2018) reported during upland surveys in the Puuc Hills region, one K. creaseri sharing an aestivation site under rocks on the forest floor with a Rhinoclemmys areolata. During a radio-telemetry study, K. creaseri most frequented rock shelters during the dry season when found inactive in the field, with turtles being observed a total of 252 times in rock shelters, and only 34 times in other shelters (Enríquez-Mercado et al. in prep.). Kinosternon creaseri has extremely aggressive behaviour in the presence of conspecifics and when being handled, instead of keeping inside their shells when threatened (Lee 2000, Legler and Vogt 2013, Díaz-Gamboa et al. 2020). They also secrete a more pungent musk than other neotropical Kinosternon (Legler and Vogt 2013). Iverson (1988) hypothesized the powerfully developed beak could be an adaptation for aggression rather than feeding.

Reproduction. Macip-Ríos et al. (2018) reported a high abundance of hatchling and juvenile individuals, which was previously reported by Iverson (1988) and could be related to an explosive hatching process during the rainy season. Additionally, Legler and Vogt (2013) mentioned that the only terrestrial movements actually observed were by juveniles on roads during rains. Females reach reproductive maturity at sizes of 11.0–11.5 cm carapace length (CL) and ages of 10–15 years (Iverson 1988) and generation time is estimated at 20–27 years (Iverson 2024). Based on observations by J.M. Legler (pers. obs.), K. creaseri has a potential for three to four one-egg, wet season clutches, which is consistent with a neotropical reproductive pattern (Moll and Legler 1971) that is shared with other turtles in this region of Mexico—multiple clutches, each with a few large eggs (Legler and Vogt 2013).

Growth and Ontogeny. Kinosternon creaseri is larger than K. acutum but is still one of the smaller Kinosternon in Mexico. Males are larger than females and have a heavily developed, seemingly prehensile tail, terminating in a large claw (Legler and Vogt 2013). Macip-Ríos et al. (2018) reported in their study in the Puuc Hills region of Yucatán, adult males had a mean CL of 109.21 ± 8.86 mm (range, 91.0–120.0 mm) and averaged 158.54 ± 38.54 g (range, 89.0–210.3 g). Females had a mean CL of 102.87 ± 4.85 mm (range, 94.0–108.0 mm) and 144.88 ± 19.55 g (range, 114.0–166.5 g) body mass (BM). Hatchlings had a mean CL of 36.18 ± 2.72 mm (range, 29.0–39.5 mm) and 6.95 ± 1.83 g (range, 2.6–10.0 g) BM. Individuals identified as juveniles or immatures ranged from 40.0–78.5 ± 12.10 mm CL, and 9 to 66.4 g ± 15.10 g BM. Data on size of John M. Legler and Rogelio Cedeño Vázquez databases: males, 117 ± 3.67 (113–122) n = 6; females, 108 ± 4.38 (100–112) n = 6; immature males, 0.90, n = 1; unsexed juveniles, 43.2 ± 3.87 (39.7–46.7) n = 4; hatchlings, 33.0 ± 1.95 (30.3–37.1) n = 11. Iverson (1991) reported the following adult size data: males, 113.4 (96.0–124.9) n = 15; females, 106.8 (89.1–121.4) n = 11 (Legler and Vogt 2013).

Juvenile growth is rapid, males grow faster than females by their second year (Legler and Vogt 2013). Six juveniles captured in the first year of growth attained sizes of 88.3 mm CL (84 -93) and 80.9 mm plastron length (78–86) during two years of captivity. This rate was faster than that for wild turtles (Iverson 1988, Legler and Vogt 2013). John M. Legler's personal observations in July in Pueblo Nuevo X-Can, Quintana Roo provide data of individuals of 40 to 47 mm CL classified as juveniles; each had a wide major growth zone preceded by a distinct growth ring at the edge of uninterrupted areolar growth; the wide growth zone contained several minor growth rings (perhaps each resulting from a separate emergence) (Legler and Vogt 2013). Individuals of 30–34 mm, classified as hatchlings, were clearly older and larger than would be expected in freshly hatched young; the umbilicus was closed in all, and only one bore a worn caruncle. All showed slight areolar growth (detectable only by scute surface texture), and there were no growth rings within this areolar growth zone (Legler and Vogt 2013).

Predators, parasites, and diseases. Iverson (1988) found ticks on the neck of a large adult near Dzibalchen, Campeche. Macip-Ríos et al. (2018) observed a hatchling that was attacked by a giant water bug (Lethocerus sp.), and after a 10-min struggle, successfully escaped the predator.

Habitat destruction, deforestation, fragmentation, and development remain the most significant threats to the population viability of Kinosternon creaseri across its range. As with many other freshwater turtles on the peninsula, development threatening K. creaseri is associated with agriculture, residential development, hotel/luxury development, and transportation development (including an interstate tourist train). Additionally, the peninsula is particularly sensitive to threats from climate change (Orellana et al. 2009), with continued temperature and precipitation changes predicted over the coming decades (Andrade-Velázquez et al. 2021). Climate change represents a multifaceted threat by disrupting the balance of desert and tropical ecosystems, as well as ecohydrology. According to a modelling study by Berriozabal-Islas et al. (2020), climate change may affect K. creaseri, potentially leading to a reduction in its currently estimated potential AOO of 50,300 sq. km to 38,401 sq. km, signifying a decrease of up to ca 24% by 2070 in an extreme global warming modelling scenario such as RCP85 (Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5). It is primarily habitat loss and degradation of the forest (cutting, desiccation, and utilization of low cleared areas for crops) that may threaten K. creaseri populations (Legler and Vogt 2013). Unfortunately, there is not even an estimate on the current rate of forest loss in the Yucatán Peninsula. Additionally, local subsistence use and collection for the international pet trade are also threatening the species.

Very few individuals of Kinosternon creaseri have been recorded in the local and international pet trade, but they are collected in small numbers and eaten by locals. The blood and meat are locally used to treat respiratory illness (van Dijk et al. 2007). Illegal trade on social networks and in stores not registered by law is poorly documented and poorly regulated, so it is not possible to know the extent of the population impact of this species. It is very common for the inhabitants of the Yucatán Peninsula to find specimens of K. creaseri crossing the highway after a heavy seasonal rain (Iverson 2010, Legler and Vogt 2013). People tend to collect them freely from the road to later keep them as pets in their homes, far away from the place where they were found (Díaz-Gamboa, unpubl. data).

Kinosternon creaseri was listed in CITES Appendix II effective February 2023, meaning that international trade is subject to regulation to ensure that such trade is not detrimental to the species’ survival. Turtles in general are protected from exploitation under Mexican wildlife and natural resource legislation. However, implementation is uneven. K. creaseri occurs in a few protected natural and archaeological sites, including Calakmul and Siankaan Biosphere Reserve. Population assessments, basic natural history studies, and confirmation of the occurrence of secure populations in protected areas would be desirable (van Dijk et al. 2007). Due to the complex haltun system and the terrestrial movements of the species, long-term studies should be undertaken to reveal apparent adaptations and metapopulation dynamics associated with this highly seasonal environment.

It will be of great interest to see studies of growth rings in K. creaseri that aestivate during dry times and emerge only when there is an abundance of standing surface water (Legler and Vogt 2013). This species needs a thorough study of life history using modern techniques of mark and recapture, including radio-telemetry, stomach flushing, and trained dogs (Legler and Vogt 2013). Future work should also evaluate the importance of aquatic versus terrestrial habitats, whether the adults found in the pools of limestone depressions are contributing to recruitment, and at what rate individual turtles move among these habitats (Macip-Ríos et al. 2018).