Japanese pond turtle

Japanese pond turtle
Japanese pond turtle (Mauremys japonica)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
Family: Geoemydidae
Genus: Mauremys
Species: M. japonica
Binomial name
Mauremys japonica
(Temminck & Schlegel in Siebold, 1835[1])
Synonyms[2]
  • Emys vulgaris japonica Temminck & Schlegel, 1835
  • Emys japonica Gray, 1844
  • Emys caspica var. japonica Duméril & Bibron, 1852
  • Clemmys japonica Strauch, 1862
  • Mauremys japonica McDowell, 1964
  • Ocadia japonica Vetter, 2006

The Japanese pond turtle (Mauremys japonica) is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae endemic to Japan. Its Japanese name is nihon ishigame, Japanese stone turtle. Its population has decreased somewhat due to habitat loss, but it is not yet considered a threatened species.

This species is known to hybridize with the Chinese pond turtle, the Chinese stripe-necked turtle, and the Chinese box turtle (and possibly other Geoemydidae) in captivity. As these three species are much rarer and strongly declining in the wild, this should be avoided.[3]

References

  1. Temminck, C. J., and H. Schlegel. 1835. Reptilia. Chelonii. In: Ph. Fr. de Siebold, 1833-1838, Fauna Japonica. Leyden. 144 pp.
  2. Fritz Uwe; Peter Havaš (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 229. ISSN 1864-5755. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  3. Buskirk, James R.; Parham, James F. & Feldman, Chris R. (2005). On the hybridisation between two distantly related Asian turtles (Testudines: Sacalia × Mauremys). Salamandra. 41: 21-26. PDF fulltext
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