Aquatic. Carapace large and domed. Plastron large and double-hinged with triangular pectoral scutes. Two light stripes on head. 
Subspecies: K. s. hippocrepis (Mississippi Mud Turtle) and K. s. subrubrum (Southeastern Mud Turtle).
Arkansas Herpetological Atlas 2019
This species is represented by 537 records from 29 sources: 420 museum (
), 0 literature (
), 0 research (
), and 74 observation (
), with 43 additional Trauth et al. (2004) locality points remaining unsourced (
). It has been museum vouchered for 52 of 75 counties (), with 11 additional counties having other forms of reported occurrence (). Years of collection range from 1906 to present.
This species occurs throughout much of the state, except for the Ozark Highlands and Boston Mountains. Three suspected transplants in the Ozark Highlands are traceable to fish hatcheries (two plotted by Trauth et al., 2004, which remain unsourced, and iNat 6699032 from 1990). A record from near the Buffalo River, Marion County (ASUMZ 31346 from 2009), may be evidence of ascension up the White River, but warrants confirmation.
Addendum (2022): An intergrade zone with the K. s. subrubrum subspecies may occur along the Mississippi River, particularly along the northeastern border.
