Testudines

Nomenclatural information concerning the large, well-publicized softshell turtles in Hoan Kiem Lake, central Hanoi, Vietnam is discussed. In 2000 Ha Dinh Duc formally described these turtles as Rafetus leloii. Comparison of descriptive features of R. leloii with those of R. swinhoei, previously reported from northern Vietnam (including Hanoi), forces the conclusion that the two taxa are synonymous.

The enduring processes of time, climate, and adaptation have sculpted the distribution of organisms we observe in the Sonoran Desert. One such organism is Morafka's desert tortoise, Gopherus morafkai. We apply a genomic approach to identify the evolutionary processes driving diversity in this species and present preliminary findings and emerging hypotheses. The Sonoran Desert form of the tortoise exhibits a continuum of genetic similarity spanning 850 km of Sonoran desertscrub extending from Empalme, Sonora, to Kingman, Arizona. However, at the ecotone between desertscrub and foothills thornscrub we identify a distinct, Sinaloan lineage and this occurrence suggests a more complex evolutionary history for G. morafkai. By using multiple loci from throughout the tortoise's genome, we aim to determine if divergence between these lineages occurred in allopatry, and further to investigate for signatures of past or current genetic introgression. This international, collaborative project will assist state and federal agencies in developing management strategies that best preserve the evolutionary potential of Morafka's desert tortoise. Ultimately, an understanding of the evolutionary history of desert tortoises will not only clarify the forces that have driven the divergence in this group, but also contribute to our knowledge of the biogeographic history of the Southwestern deserts and how diversity is maintained within them.

Los monogeneos del género Polystomoides, en el que se han descrito hasta el momento 32 especies, son parásitos oioxénicos que habitan en la cavidad orofaríngea, y ocasionalmente, en la vejiga urinaria y cloaca, de quelonios dulceacuícolas. En concreto, la especie Polystomoides ocellatum ha sido detectada parasitando la cavidad bucofaríngea del galápago europeo (Emys orbicularis) en diversas localizaciones (Antigua URSS, Ucrania, Rumanía, Bulgaria, Italia, Francia, y probablemente en Túnez) si bien, en la Península Ibérica, sólo se había citado hasta el momento en el galápago leproso (Mauremys leprosa), que normalmente está parasitada por la especie Polystomoides tunisiensis. En este trabajo se han identificado morfológicamente los monogeneos recogidos de la cavidad bucofaríngea de diversos galápagos europeos capturados en Navarra, demostrándose que pertenecen a la especie Polystomoides ocellatum.

El consum de quelonis per part d'homínids està testimoniat des de fases molt antigues, però és especialment al llarg del Paleolític Mitjà i lligat a contexts neandertals quan les evidències es multipliquen, sobre testudínids terrestres a la conca mediterrània. No obstant, Mauremys leprosa és una tortuga d’aigües continentals de distribució iberomagrebina, de caràcter termòfil, que actualment encara es consumeix per l'ésser humà a determinades comarques andaluses i extremenyes. Al registre zooarqueològic valencià apareix a partir de l’Holocè postglacial, als jaciments de l’Ereta del Pedregal, Cova de l’Or, Lloma de Betxí i Pic dels Corbs, en ambients que, exceptuant el primer jaciment (a una antiga zona lacustre), es troben fora dels hàbitats naturals d’aquesta tortuga (cova i poblats elevats). En aquest treball analitzem les restes assignades a Mauremys leprosa recuperades en aquests llocs i vinculem la seua aparició amb un possible consum humà, entre el Neolític i l’Edat del Bronze.

Spis treści

1. Wstęp
2. Systematyka i ewolucja
3. Charakterystyka morfologiczna gatunku
3.1 Karapaks (carapax)
3.2 Plastron (plastron)
3.3 Kończyny
3.4 Głowa
3.5 Ogon
3.6 Inne cechy
4. Testudo werneri a Testudo kleinmanni
5. Rozmieszczenie i charakterystyka środowisk
5.1 Klimat
5.1.1 Makroklimat
5.1.2 Mikroklimat
5.1.3 Roślinność
5.1.4 Region zoogeograficzny
5.1.5 Przykładowe warunki klimatyczne dla Libii, Egiptu i Izraela 
5.2 Występowanie i charakterystyka środowisk
5.2.1 Libia
5.2.2 Egipt
5.2.3 Izrael
6. Biologia
6.1 Dymorfizm płciowy i rozród
6.2 Cykl roczny i behawior
7. Zagrożenia i ochrona
7.1 Zagrożenia
7.1.1 Libia
7.1.2 Egipt   
7.1.3 Izrael
7.2 Status prawny, ochrona, European Studbook Foundation
7.2.1 Status prawny i ochrona
7.2.2 European Studbook Foundation
8. Hodowla
8.1 Kwarantanna
8.2 Terrarium
8.3 Dieta
8.4 Roczny cykl klimatyczny w terrarium
8.5 Rozmnażanie
8.6 Wychów młodych
9. Bibliografia
10. Załączniki

The purpose of this application, under Article 75.8 of the Code, is to conserve the specific name Testudo gigantea Schweigger, 1812 in its customary usage for the giant land tortoise (family TESTUDINIDAE) found on Aldabra Atoll in the western Indian Ocean. Taxonomic and nomenclatural confusion in the 19th and early 20th centuries led to competing and contradictory proposals between 1982 and 2006 to supplant T. gigantea Schweigger, 1812, first with T. elephantina Duméril & Bibron, 1835 and then with T. dussumieri Gray, 1831. As a corollary, Aldabrachelys Loveridge & Williams, 1957, the genus-group name erected for the Aldabra tortoise, was supposedly reduced to a junior synonym of either the extinct Mascarene genus/subgenus Cylindraspis Fitzinger, 1835, or the South American genus/subgenus Chelonoidis Fitzinger, 1835, and replaced as the name of the Aldabra tortoise by the generic name Dipsochelys Bour, 1982. To stabilise the accustomed name of this species as Geochelone (Aldabrachelys) gigantea, a neotype of T. gigantea Schweigger, 1812 was designated in 2006. A subsequent claim of the rediscovery of the long-lost holotype now again threatens this usage and stable nomenclature by (1) rendering T. gigantea a junior subjective synonym of T. denticulata Linnaeus, 1766, (2) resurrecting the former nomen oblitum Testudo dussumieri Gray, 1831 for the Aldabra tortoise, and (3) setting aside the neotype of T. gigantea; this action also again threatens the established use of Aldabrachelys. The supposed holotype rediscovery is not unequivocally proven, and for the sake of nomenclatural universality and stability, it is proposed that the neotype designation of 2006 be affirmed and that T. dussumieri Gray, 1831 be suppressed.

Newly described specimens of North American Eocene turtles provide valuable information on their morphology and, more specifically, variation, both intraspecific and ontogenetic. We describe several complete and nearly complete testudinoid (Testudinoidea) specimens, including juvenile specimens of Hadrianus corsoni, H. majusculus, Echmatemys haydeni and E. naomi. These specimens help us determine that the oldest and most basal tortoises are from the western United States, suggesting Testudinidae evolved in North America from one of the geoemydid-like forms in the genus Echmatemys, which have their lowest stratigraphic occurrence in the earliest Wasatchian North American land-mammal “age” (early Eocene, Ypresian, ~53 Ma).

The current knowledge about the European pond turtle Emys orbicularis (L.) in Hungary is summarized. Although large self-sustaining populations still seem to exist, E. orbicularis is more and more exposed to a decreasing availability of suitable habitats. Detailed autecological studies are missing. In recent years, several conservation and monitoring programs were initiated for this protected species.

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No transcorrer do livro, é possível constatar a importância da promoção da Educação Ambiental nas escolas ribeirinhas. A pesquisa realizada pela autora e aludida nesse livro possibilitou a verificação da consciência ambiental dos alunos locais expondo seus hábitos sucessivos de consumo de quelônios e caça em geral e assim validando o pouco cuidado na conservação desses animais. Todavia, também foi exposto no livro a disposição e o interesse de professores e alunos na manutenção da vida silvestre, observação bastante considerável e significativa tendo em vista os pilares da educação ambiental como os valores sociais, habilidades, competências, métodos e conhecimentos.

A new, critically endangered species of softshell turtle, Pelodiscus variegatus sp. n. is described from north-central Vietnam and Hainan Island, China, distinguished by a unique set of genetic and morphological traits from all other congeners (P. axenaria, P. maackii, P. parviformis, P. sinensis, and unnamed genetic lineages). Morphologically, P. variegatus is characterized, among others, by its strong ventral ornamentation in all age classes.

This is a review article on the fossil record of turtles in Colombia that includes: the early Cretaceous turtles from Zapatoca and Villa de Leyva localities; the giant turtles from the Paleocene Cerrejón and Calenturitas Coal Mines; the early Miocene, earliest record of Chelus from Pubenza, Cundinamarca; the early to late Miocene large podocnemids, chelids and testudinids from Castilletes, Alta Guajira and La Venta; and the small late Pleistocene kinosternids from Pubenza, Cundinamarca. I alsodiscuss here the current gaps in the fossil record of tropical South American turtles, as well as the ongoing research and future projects to be developed in order to understand better the evolutionary history of Colombian turtles. En este artículo resumo el registro fósil de tortugas de Colombia, incluyendo las tortugas del Cretácico temprano de Zapatoca y Villa de Leyva, las tortugas gigantes del Paleoceno en las minas de carbón de El Cerrejón y Calenturitas, el registro más antiguo de Chelus...

Size and colouration of nearly 100 adult Emys orbicularis from the lowlands of Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia (= sample "Hungary") were compared with the characters of about 40 native specimens from northeastern Germany (Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, Saxony) and approximately the same number from eastern Poland (Lubelskie, Leczna-Wlodawa district and Polesie). Pond turtles from the Hungarian Lowlands and adjacent areas are distinctly smaller and lighter coloured than the two other populations. With the exception of three specimens (about 3% of the whole sample size), all pond turtles from the sample "Hungary" were easily distinguished from the northern samples by size and colouration. The populations from Germany and Poland could not be differentiated by the characters studied. These findings are not congruent with results obtained recently by molecular biological methods, as they point to a closer relationship between the German and Polish population than to that between the German and Hungarian one.

The skull and other morphological features of the holotype of Rafetus swinhoei (Gray, 1873) are compared with those of Yuen maculatus Heude, 1880 and Pelochelys taihuensis Zhang, 1984. These taxa are regarded conspecific. The recent re-establishing of Y. maculatus and its assigning to the genus Pelochelys by K.-T. Zhao (1997) is based on a misconcept. Rafetus swinhoei sensu K.T. Zhao is actually Amyda cartilaginea (Boddaert, 1770), whereas his Pelochelys maculatus is identical with Rafetus swinhoei (Gray, 1873). The allocation of swinhoei to the genus Rafetus is also reviewed, and confirmed.

More than one-fifth of the documented caves in the United States occur in Tennessee. The obligate subterranean biota of Tennessee is rich and diverse, with 200 troglobionts reported from over 660 caves. Fifty troglobionts are known from just 75 of the 1,469 caves in the Appalachian Valley and Ridge physiographic province of eastern Tennessee. Tennessee's Valley and Ridge has been under-sampled relative to other karst areas in the state, limiting our knowledge of cave and karst species diversity and distributions and compromising our ability to identify habitats and species potentially at risk from anthropogenic threats, such as urban sprawl near the metropolitan area of Knoxville. Knowledge of nontroglobiontic species inhabiting caves, including vertebrates, is particularly sparse in this region. Although caves have long been recognized as critical habitats for several bat species, the importance of caves for other vertebrate taxa has received less attention. Caves are important habitats for many other nontroglobiontic vertebrates and should be considered in the management and conservation of these species. Our decade-long study bioinventoried 56 caves in 15 counties and begins to address knowledge gaps in distributions and cave use by vertebrates in the Valley and Ridge and adjacent Blue Ridge Mountains of eastern Tennessee within the Appalachians karst region. In addition, we conducted a thorough review of the literature and museum databases for additional species-occurrence records in those provinces of eastern Tennessee. From these sources, we present an annotated list of 54 vertebrate taxa, including 8 fishes, 19 amphibians (8 anurans and 11 salamanders), 6 reptiles, 3 birds, and 18 mammals. Three species are included on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, while six species are at risk of extinction based on NatureServe conservation rank criteria. Ten bat species are known from 109 caves in 24 eastern Tennessee counties. Our bioinventories documented five bat species in 39 caves, including new records of the federally endangered Gray Bat (Myotis grisescens). We observed visible evidence of whitenose syndrome caused by the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans at four caves in Blount, Roane, and Union counties. We documented two new localities of the only troglobiontic vertebrate in the Valley and Ridge, the Berry Cave Salamander (Gyrinophilus gulolineatus). Despite these efforts, significant sampling gaps remain-only 7.7% of known caves in the Valley and Ridge and Blue Ridge Mountains of eastern Tennessee have records of vertebrate-species occurrence. Moreover, few caves in eastern Tennessee have experienced repeated, comprehensive bioinventories, with the exception of periodic surveys of hibernating bats at selected caves. Future bioinventory efforts should incorporate multiple visits to individual caves, if possible, and more efforts should focus on these understudied areas of eastern Tennessee.

We studied for the first time the molecular differentiation of all three currently recognized subspecies of Trachemys scripta, including the morphologically distinct western populations of T. s. elegans (‘western red-eared sliders’), using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences (up to 3,236 bp and 2,738 bp, respectively) and 14 microsatellite loci. We found that only the quickly evolving microsatellite loci discriminated T. s. troostii and the western red-eared slider from the remaining two subspecies, while T. s. elegans and T. s. scripta were not distinct in any marker system. Our findings challenge the current intraspecific systematics of T. scripta and suggest that the conspicuous differences in coloration and pattern reflect population-specific, rather than taxonomic, differentiation. We abstain from synonymizing any subspecies because, for traditionalists and conservationists, abandoning the well-established and morphologically distinct subspecies of T. scripta is not desirable. However, if subspecies of T. scripta continue to be recognized, the current taxonomy with three subspecies is difficult to justify. Western red-eared sliders are morphologically distinct and differ from T. s. elegans and T. s. scripta, with respect to microsatellites, as much as T. s. troostii does. In view of this morphological and genetic evidence, subspecies status should be considered for western red-eared sliders.

Background: Leuciscinae is a subfamily belonging to the Cyprinidae fish family that is widely distributed in Circum-Mediterranean region. Many efforts have been carried out to deciphering the evolutionary history of this group. Thus, different biogeographical scenarios have tried to explain the colonization of Europe and Mediterranean area by cyprinids, such as the "north dispersal" or the "Lago Mare dispersal" models. Most recently, Pleistocene glaciations influenced the distribution of leuciscins, especially in North and Central Europe. Weighing up these biogeographical scenarios, this paper constitutes not only the first attempt at deciphering the mitochondrial and nuclear relationships of Mediterranean leuciscins but also a test of biogeographical hypotheses that could have determined the current distribution of Circum-Mediterranean leuciscins.

Recently a comprehensive overview of reptiles and amphibians in Michigan was published. Unfortunately, the distributions of the species represented were compiled before widespread accessibility to technological tools providing greater access to museum and historical records as well as citizen science efforts. To update the known ranges of Michigan herpetofauna, published literature, museum collections, and photographic vouchers submitted to an online database were examined and 339 new county and island records were added, updating the maps for 48 of Michigan’s 55 known species of reptiles and amphibians. I also present the first published list of Michigan amphibians that includes two new plethodontid salamanders, the Northern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus) and Southern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea cirrigera). This paper serves as an example of the wealth of information available to scientists that may have previously been unobtainable, and can be used for the distribution of herpetofauna elsewhere.

The chondrocranium is a cartilaginous structure that forms around and protects the brain and sensory organs of the head. Through ontogeny, this skeletal structure may become more elaborate, remodeled and reabsorbed, and/or ossified. Though considerable attention has been given to the formation of the chondrocranium and a great amount of data has been gathered on the development of this structure among many craniates, the anatomy of this structure in turtles often is neglected. We describe the mature chondrocranium of the pleurodiran turtle, Emydura subglobosa (Chelidae) based on hatchling specimens. Though formation and ossification of bony elements has been studied previously in this species, a detailed description of the chondrocranium of this pleurodiran turtle has not been presented. Anatomy of the chondrocranium was described for E. subglobosa by examination of cleared and double-stained specimens. The orbitotemporal region of E. subglobosa is dramatically different from that of other described turtles (e.g., Apalone spinifera, Pelodiscus sinensis, Chelydra serpentina, Macrochelys temminckii, Trachemys scripta, Chrysemys picta, and Eretmochelys imbricata) in that a prominent taenia marginalis spans the space between the planum supraseptale and otic capsules, and the pila antotica (which becomes modified and ossified through ontogeny to form the processus clinoideus) is greatly reduced and essentially absent in hatchling specimens. The morphology seen in E. subglobosa is similar to that of Caretta caretta, particularly as it relates to the taenia marginalis. Variation in the orbitotemporal region is briefly discussed in the context of the taenia marginalis, taenia medialis, pila metoptica, and pila antotica.

We present new fossil records of the geoemydid turtle Bridgeremys pusilla from the Uinta Formation of Utah. Turtles are abundant throughout the unit, and known taxa are similar to those from the older strata in the Upper Green River Basin in Wyoming from the Bridger and Washakie Formations. B. pusilla is known from Bridgerian deposits but was not previously known from after the Turtle Bluff Member of the Bridger Formation. The taxon was coveal with two species of the geoemydid Echmatemys (E. callopyge and E. wyomingensis), a common genus of

The type material of four species of fossil trionychid turtles (Trionyx clavatomarginatus Lörenthey, T. harmati Szalai, T. nopcsai Szalai and T. pseudovindobonensis Szalai) is redescribed and evaluated. Trionyx nopcsai is tentatively assigned to Chelydropsis cf. C. decheni (H. v. Meyer) (family Chelydridae); T. pseudovindobonensis and T. harmati, the holotype of which is no longer available, are declared undeterminable beyond the family level; T. clavatomarginatus is accepted as a bona fide species awaiting comprehensive revision.

The fossil turtles from the Upper Cretaceous Fruitland and Kirtland formations (late Campanian; Kirtlandian) have been known for more than 100 years. We re-assess and revise these Late Cretaceous testudine taxa from the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, USA, and discuss their biostratigraphic distribution. We recognize the following valid taxa as present: the bothremydid Chedighaii hutchisoni; the pleurosternid Compsemys sp.; the baenodds Denazinemys nodosa and Scabremys gen. nov., established for the distinct species S. ornata, previously included in Denazinemys; and Boremys grandis, though it is a rare taxon. The non-baenodd baenid Neurankylus baueri is recognized as a valid species. Two additional non-baenodd baenid taxa, Thescelus hemispherica and T. rapiens, are retained as distinct species and are not considered synonymous with T. insiliens. We also recognize a small indeterminate kinosternoid similar to that reported from the Campanian of Mexico. The two adocids Adocus bossi and A. kirtlandius are retained as distinct species. The nanhsiungchelyid Basilemys gaffneyi sp. nov. is established, whereas Basilemys nobilis is considered a nomen dubium because it lacks the diagnostic features that would allow referral to any known valid species. We recognize three trionychids: Aspideretoides austerus and A. robustus (new combination), and an unnamed plastominine. We synomize Aspideretoides fontanus and A. vorax with A. austerus. Aspideretoides ovatus is considered a subadult of A. robustus. The unnamed plastominine may represent a new genus and species. Turtles of the Fruitland-Kirtland formations resemble other late Campanian turtle assemblages from western NorthAmerica, and are part of the characteristic vertebrate fauna of the Kirtlandian land-vertebrate age. The upper Fruitland and lower Kirtland formations (Hunter Wash local fauna) have greater turtle taxonomic diversity than the upper Kirtland Formation (Willow Wash local fauna). This apparent decrease in taxonomic diversity is interpreted as being real and reflects a shift in depositional (channel) environments to a more terrestrial one, a pattern which is seen in other North American Late Cretaceous settings.

From the northern Negev Desert of Israel three new localities for land tortoises are reported: Be’er Mash’abim, the Mash’abim Sands Nature Reserve for Testudo kleinmanni and T. graeca; approximately 2 km south of Lahav (southwest of Eshkolot) for T. graeca and approximately 6 km northeast of Nizzana for T. kleinmanni. Be’er Mash’abim is the first reported sympatric occurrence of T. kleinmanni and any other tortoise species. Further Israeli localities for T. kleinmanni are discussed.

Suriname beaches support a major nesting colony of leatherback turtles. During the 1999-2005 nesting seasons, we collected data on nesting ecology and identified individual turtles that nested at Babunsanti (Galibi Nature Reserve), Samsambo, Kolukumbo, and Matapica. We observed 8462 leatherback females, 6933 of which we PIT-tagged. The remaining 1529 females carried PIT tags of a non-Surinamese origin. Because complete coverage of all nesting beaches was not possible over the study period, estimations of minimum annual nesting colony size were made, which ranged from 1545 to 5500 females in Suriname alone. Of the 7394 turtles observed during [1999][2000][2001][2002][2003][2004] 14.8% were seen renesting by 2005. Annual mean internesting period ranged between 9.4 6 1.0 to 9.6 6 1.0 days. Annual mean observed clutch frequency was between 1.6 6 1.0 to 3.1 6 1.4 and annual minimum estimated clutch frequency between 4.1 6 1.6 to 4.9 6 1.8 clutches. Annual mean standard curved carapace length ranged from 154.1 6 6.7 to 155.6 6 6.7 cm, and annual mean clutch size ranged from 80.8 6 18.3 to 88.2 6 19.5 yolked eggs. Annual average hatch success (including nests with zero hatching) ranged from 10.6% 6 16.4 to 25.8% 6 24.4 at Babunsanti, and from 52.7% 6 29.7 to 56.0% 6 30.8 at Matapica. Remigrants and non-Surinamese turtles were, on average, larger than new females, and remigrants had a higher clutch frequency. In 6 years, the annual proportion of newly tagged females decreased from 89.9% to 40.5% and that of remigrants increased from 0% to 45.6%. However, the annual proportion of turtles with a non-Surinamese PIT tag (10.1% to 17.6%) was relatively stable. Combined with the moderate frequency of intra-and interseasonal nesting exchange between regional beaches, this indicates that although the Suriname/French Guiana leatherbacks form a single rookery, individual females show strong nesting fidelity to one side of the Marowijne Estuary.

The ability of hatchling and juvenile turtles to thermoregulate, as evidenced by selection of preferred temperatures in thermal gradients, is an important factor influencing fitness. Previous studies in laboratory thermal gradients suggest that most young turtles select warm temperatures (258-338C) within a narrow range. Confounding factors affecting microhabitat selection, such as predator avoidance, foraging, or social interaction, may influence thermal preference in some species, particularly softshell turtles (Apalone spp.) that frequently bury in the substrate to remain cryptic. We analyzed temperature selection of juvenile Apalone spinifera in an aquatic thermal gradient of 158-308C with either gravel, sand, or a combination of sand and no substrate. Across all substrate treatments in the gradient tests, hatchlings selected the warmest temperature available (308C: 56.1% of observations) and avoided the 2 coldest temperatures (158C: 5.3%; 188C: 3.6%). Turtles relocated between chambers more often in control tests than when a gradient was present and fewer observations involved a chamber relocation in control tests. In gradient tests, chamber temperature significantly influenced selection, and the interactive effect of temperature and substrate was significant. We observed turtles more frequently in 308C in tests conducted with a sand substrate than with a gravel substrate or without a substrate. In tests conducted with sand in the 4 coolest chambers only, turtles chose the warmest temperature with a sand substrate more often than all other temperatures, except 308C. Our results indicate that hatchling A. spinifera can effectively detect temperature differences and select preferred temperatures within at least a 38C range and that substrate type may affect selected temperature.