Differentiating Male and Female Terrapene coahuila (Coahuilan box turtle)

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Differentiating Male and Female Terrapene coahuila (Coahuilan box turtle) - Chris Tabaka DVM

This rare Mexican species is fairly straightforward in terms of sexing the adults. As with many other species the male has a longer tail and a slightly concave plastron in relation to the female. Sub adults can be a bit more difficult.

In the first photo below you can se a direct comparison of the plastrons of the male in the foreground versus the female in the rear.

On the left, you can see an adult male of this species and on the right is a female. Note the extremely stubby appearance to the tail of the female in this species