Geographic range: Neotropical: K. integrum is a strictly Mexican species found from southern Sonora and extreme southwest Chihuahua southward along the Pacific drainage to central Oaxaca. On the Central Plateau from central Durango and Southern Nuevo Leon southward to central Oaxaca. It also occurs in southwestern Tamaulipas.

Physical characteristics: Middle sized (around 20cm) turtle with brownish dome-shaped oval carapace, which gradually slopes posteriorly and is depressed over the vertebrals. The most distinctive feature (as in all Mud Turtles) is presence of plastral hinges connecting anterior and posterior section of plastron to the immobile central section. Cervical is very narrow, the first vertebral is broader than long touching the first two pairs of marginals. Vertebrals 2 -4 are longer than broad and the 5th is also broader than long, but broader posteriorly than anteriorly. Lateral marginals are downturned, but posterior ones are flared. The carapace is gray to yellow, brown or even darker. The plastron is large and has 11 yellowish scutes. It has a notch in the posterior. The internal seam is longer than 67% of the length of the posterior plastral lobe.
The head is large with a protruding snout and hooked jaws. Its rostral shield is pointed. There are 2 large barbells on the chin followed posteriorly by 2 -4 pairs of smaller barbells. The head is dark brown dorsally and lighter gray or yellow brown laterally and ventrally. Dark mottling may occur on the side of the head.
Body skin is relatively smooth. Males are larger than females and have long, thick tails terminating in a horny spine.K. integrum has strong webbed feet with large claws.
To the untrained eye, many of the mud turtle species appear very similar. This similarity is complicated by the presence in wild populations of individuals that are intergrades or hybrids between differing populations and species. Some studies indicate that K. integrum actually harbors a second undescribed species.

note: Identification of species in Mud Turtles involves morfometry of plastral structures, presence and size of chin barbells, together with other features.

Food habits: Kinosternids are opportunistic omnivores or carnivores. They will eat many different types of food, depending on what is available in the local environment.

Reproduction: In general, Kinosternids do not have an elaborate courtship procedure, although there are a number of variations dependent on species. Typical events include a phase where the male follows the female, sniffing at her cloaca and sometimes the bridge between the carapace and plastron. This occasionally is accompanied by a head-to-head confrontation or nudging by the male. If the female moves away, the male will give chase, repeating the sniffing and nudging until the female remains stationary. The male then mounts the female from the side or rear, using all four feet to grasp the shell.
Most species of mud turtles lay multiple clutches of eggs during a single season, with a relatively low number of eggs deposited each time (from one to five, on average). Incubation times are dependent on local conditions and seem to take from three to five months to hatch.
In K. integrum eggs are elongated (30 x 16 mm) with white brittle shells, the average length of carapace in hatchlings is 27 mm.

Behavior: Although usually considered to be chiefly aquatic in nature, K.integrum can spend a reasonable amount of time out of water.

Habitat: Generally prefers slow-moving or still bodies of water with deep pools. Preferred locations often have soft-bodied beds, either consisting of sand or mud, and support a large amount of aquatic vegetation. In the dry season the turtles will aestivate in the dried mud, waiting for rainfall to come. Occurs in altitudes up to 3000 m.

Biomes: rivers, permanent, semipermanent fresh water bodies