Yellow pond turtle

Yellow pond turtle
Stuffed specimen of Mauremys mutica kami, exhibited in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan.
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Geoemydidae
Subfamily:	Geoemydinae
Genus:	Mauremys
Species:	M. mutica
Binomial name
Mauremys mutica (Cantor, 1842)
Synonyms[1]
Mauremys mutica mutica Emys muticus Cantor, 1842 Emys mutica Gray, 1844 Clemmys mutica Boettger, 1888 Damonia mutica Boulenger, 1889 Clemmys schmackeri Boettger, 1894 Geoclemys mutica Siebenrock, 1909 Cathaiemys mutica Lindholm, 1931 Annamemys grochovskiae Tien, 1957 Annamemys groeliovskiae Battersby, 1960 (ex errore) Mauremys mutica McDowell, 1964 Mauremys muica Zhou & Zhou, 1991 (ex errore) Mauremys grochovskiae Iverson & McCord, 1994 Mauremys mutica mutica Yasukawa, Ota & Iverson, 1996 Cathaiemys mutica mutica Vetter, 2006 Mauremys mutica kami Mauremys mutica kami Yasukawa, Ota & Iverson, 1996 Mauremys mutica karni Ferri, 2002 (ex errore) Cathaiemys mutica kami Vetter, 2006

The yellow pond turtle (Mauremys mutica), is a medium-sized (to 19.5 cm), semi-aquatic turtle in the family Geoemydidae. This species has a characteristic broad yellow stripe extending behind the eye and down the neck; the carapace ranges in color from grayish brown to brown and the plastron is yellow or orange with black blotches along the outer edges.^[2] It is found in East Asia, ranging from central Vietnam, north through the coastal provinces of south and central China. Additional insular populations are found in Taiwan, Hainan, Ryukyu Islands, and Japan.^[3] The Japanese populations are believed to have been introduced as a result of imports from Taiwan.^[4]

This species inhabits ponds, creeks, swamps, marshes and other bodies of shallow, slow-moving water. It is omnivorous, feeding on insects, fish, tadpoles, and vegetable matter such as leaves and seeds. The yellow pond turtle generally remains in or close to water during the day but may become more active at night and during rainy weather, when it sometimes ventures onto land.^[4]

One subspecies, Mauremys mutica kami, is currently recognized in the Ryukyu Islands.^[4] Research has shown unexpected genetic diversity in M. mutica, raising the possibility that additional subspecies might exist. Evidence of widespread hybridization further complicates efforts to understand the genetics of this and related species.^[5] Several hybrid Asian pond turtles that were described as new species have been found to be hybrids. Fujian pond turtles (Mauremys iversoni) are hybrid specimens mainly produced in Chinese turtle farms, usually from matings between female yellow pond turtles and golden coin turtles (Cuora trifasciata) males. The supposed Mauremys pritchardi turtles are wild and captive-bred hybrids between the present species and the Chinese pond turtle (Chinemys reevesi).^[6][7]

The yellow pond turtle is threatened with extinction. China is the largest consumer of turtles in the world and this trade has been cited as the greatest threat to Asian turtles including M. mutica. Most of the turtle trade is destined for human consumption but traditional medicine^[8] and the pet trade are also driving demand for turtles.^[9][10][11] Habit loss and water pollution are additional impacts. The IUCN considers M. mutica an endangered species and it is listed in CITES Appendix II.^[3]

Notes

References

External links

Wikispecies has information related to: Mauremys mutica

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mauremys mutica.

• http://www.asianturtlenetwork.org/field_guide/field_guide_intro.htm

Turtle family Geoemydidae
Genus	Species of the family Geoemydidae
Batagur	Burmese roofed turtle Northern river terrapin Painted terrapin Red-crowned roofed turtle Southern river terrapin Three-striped roofed turtle
Cuora	Amboina box turtle Bourret's box turtle Indochinese box turtle McCord's box turtle Keeled box turtle Pan's box turtle Southern Vietnamese box turtle Chinese three-striped box turtle Yellow-headed box turtle Yellow-margined box turtle Yunnan box turtle Zhou's box turtle
Cyclemys	Asian leaf turtle Assam leaf turtle Eastern black-bridged leaf turtle Enigmatic leaf turtle Myanmar brown leaf turtle Oldham's leaf turtle Western black-bridged leaf turtle
Geoclemys	Black pond turtle
Geoemyda	Black-breasted leaf turtle Ryukyu black-breasted leaf turtle
Hardella	Brahminy river turtle
Heosemys	Arakan forest turtle Giant Asian pond turtle Spiny turtle Yellow-headed temple turtle
Leucocephalon	Sulawesi forest turtle
Malayemys	Malayan snail-eating turtle Mekong snail-eating turtle
Mauremys	Balkan pond turtle Caspian turtle Chinese pond turtle Chinese stripe-necked turtle Japanese pond turtle Red-necked pond turtle Spanish pond turtle Vietnamese pond turtle Yellow pond turtle
Melanochelys	Indian black turtle Tricarinate hill turtle
Morenia	Burmese eyed turtle Indian eyed turtle
Notochelys	Malayan flat-shelled turtle
Orlitia	Malaysian giant turtle
Pangshura	Assam roofed turtle Brown roofed turtle Indian roofed turtle Indian tent turtle
Rhinoclemmys	Black river turtle Brown wood turtle Colombian wood turtle Furrowed wood turtle Large-nosed wood turtle Maracaibo wood turtle Mexican spotted wood turtle Painted wood turtle Spot-legged turtle
Sacalia	Beal's eyed turtle Four-eyed turtle
Siebenrockiella	Black marsh turtle Philippine forest turtle
Vijayachelys	Cane turtle
Phylogenetic arrangement based on turtles of the world 2011 update: annotated checklist.