low also referring to the shape of the carapace; intermedius – Latin for intermediate, historically believed to be a hybrid from between S. minor and S. peltifer; minor – Latin referencing its relatively small size compared to S. carinatus; odoratus – Latin for having an odor, referring the smell of the musk produced by its scent glands; peltifer – Latin meaning bearing a small shield, in reference to the small size of the scutes on the bridge the species. Taxonomy Sternotherus is one of four genera in the family Kinosternidae including: narrow-bridged musk turtles (Claudius), American mud turtles (Kinosternon), giant musk turtles (Staurotypus), and musk turtles (Sternotherus). Sternotherus are closely related, similar in appearance, and sympatric in much of their range with some species of mud turtles (Kinosternon), and the two genera constitute the subfamily Kinosterninae within the family Kinosternidae. In the past some taxonomist placed Sternotherus in the synonymy of the genus Kinosternon but they are generally regarded as two separate genera with six species currently (2022) recognized in the genus Sternotherus. Genus Sternotherus – musk turtles Extant species Sternotherus carinatus – razor-backed musk turtle Sternotherus depressus – flattened musk turtle Sternotherus intermedius – intermediate musk turtle Sternotherus minor – loggerhead musk turtle Sternotherus odoratus – eastern musk turtle Sternotherus peltifer – stripeneck musk turtle Fossil species †Sternotherus palaeodorus Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Sternotherus. Description Turtles in the genus Sternotherus are very similar to the American mud turtles in the genus Kinosternon, but tend to have a more domed carapace, with a distinctive keel down the center of it. Sternotherus odoratus typically grows to only in straight carapace length at full maturity, with females often being larger than males. Distribution The genus Sternotherus is endemic to North America. It occurs in the approximant eastern third of the USA and extreme southeast Ontario, Canada. The eastern musk turtle (S. odoratus), the most wide-ranging species of the genus, occurs in southern Maine, south to Florida, west into eastern Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, and north to southeast Wisconsin, southern Michigan, and the Great Lakes region of southern Ontario. It is generally absent from higher elevations in the Appalachian Mountains. The other species in the genus largely occur within the southern regions of the eastern musk turtle's range. Two species have relatively limited distributions, the flattened musk turtle