Nesting and parental care in the mud turtle, Kinosternon flavescens

Female yellow mud turtles (Kinosternon flavescens) in the Nebraska Sandhills nest while completely buried underground, and remain with their single annual clutch of eggs for 1 to more than 38 days. The annual incidence of nest attendance seems to be inversely correlated with rainfall between mid-May and mid-June. Egg mortality may be reduced by the effects of the female's presence on both predation on the eggs and soil moisture at the nest.