Yellow pond turtle
The Yellow pond turtle (Mauremys mutica) is a medium-sized turtle which can grow up to 19.5 cm long. It belongs to the family Geoemydidae. It is a semi-aquatic species. This species of turtle has a wide yellow stripe starting from behind the eye and down the neck.[2]
| Yellow pond turtle | |
|---|---|
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| Specimen of Mauremys mutica kami. It is exhibited in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan. | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Cryptodira |
| Family: | Geoemydidae |
| Genus: | Mauremys |
| Species: | M. mutica
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| Binomial name | |
| Mauremys mutica (Cantor, 1842)
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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Distribution
changeThe yellow pond turtle is found in East Asia. The places it can be found includes central Vietnam, coastal provinces of south and central China. There are some other populations of the turtle that are separate from the rest of the species. These can be found in Taiwan, Hainan, Ryukyu Islands, and Japan.[3] The Japanese populations are thought to come from Taiwan.[4]
This species lives in ponds, creeks, swamps and marshes. It can be found in shallow, slow moving water. It is omnivorous. The main food for the turtle are insects, fish, tadpoles, leaves and seeds. The yellow pond turtle generally remains in or close to water during the day. It is usually more active at night. It usually goes onto land when it rains.[4]
Subspecies and Hybrids
changeMauremys mutica kami is one of the subspecies. It is currently found in the Ryukyu Islands.[4] There are several hybrid Asian pond turtles species. They were first described as new species but later found out as hybrid species. Fujian pond turtles (Mauremys iversoni) are hybrid species mainly produced in Chinese turtle farms. They are produced when female yellow pond turtles and male golden coin turtles (Cuora trifasciata) mates.[5][6]
Clemmys guangxiensis is a hybrid species that came from the mating of Mauremys mutica and the Fujian pond turtle.[6]
Conservation
changeThe yellow pond turtle is threatened with extinction. The population in China eats the most amount of turtles in the world. This trading of turtles is the greatest threat to Asian turtles including M. mutica. The turtles are also used in traditional Chinese medicine. [7] There are also turtles kept as pets but are later killed or abandoned. [8][9][10] Water pollution can also cause some habitats of the turtle be to gone. The IUCN considers M. mutica an endangered species. It is listed in CITES Appendix II.[3]
Notes
change- ↑ Fritz Uwe; Peter Havaš (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 231–232. ISSN 1864-5755. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
- ↑ Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Asian Turtle Trade Working Group (2000).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Yasukawa, Ota & Iverson (1996).
- ↑ Feldman & Parham (2004).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Parham et al. (2001).
- ↑ Rômulo, Washington & Gindomar (2008).
- ↑ Cheung & Dudgeon (2006).
- ↑ Gong et al. (2009).
- ↑ Shi & Parham (2000).
References
change- Asian Turtle Trade Working Group (2000). "Mauremys mutica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2000.RLTS.T39613A10251132.en.
- Cheung, S. M.; Dudgeon, D. (2006). "Quantifying the Asian turtle crisis: market surveys in southern China, 2000–2003". Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 16 (7): 751–770. doi:10.1002/aqc.803.
- Ernst, C.H.; Altenburg, R.G.M.; Barbour, R.W. "Mauremys mutica". Turtles of the World. World Biodiversity Database. Archived from the original on 2016-02-23. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- Feldman, Chris R.; Parham, James F. (2004). "Molecular Systematics of Old World Stripe-Necked Turtles (Testudines: Mauremys)" (PDF). Asiatic Herpetological Research. 10: 28–37.
- Fong, J.J.; Parham, J.F.; Shi, H.; Stuart, B.L.; Carter, R.L. (2007). "A genetic survey of heavily exploited, endangered turtles: caveats on the conservation value of trade animals". Animal Conservation. 10 (4): 452–460. doi:10.1111/j.1469-1795.2007.00131.x. S2CID 36641037.
- Gong, Shi-Pin; Chow, Alex T.; Fong, Jonathan J.; Shi, Hai-Tao (2009). "The chelonian trade in the largest pet market in China: scale, scope and impact on turtle conservation". Oryx. 43 (2): 213–216. doi:10.1017/S0030605308000902.
- Parham, James Ford; Simison, W. Brian; Kozak, Kenneth H.; Feldman, Chris R.; Shi, Haitao (2001). "New Chinese turtles: endangered or invalid? A reassessment of two species using mitochondrial DNA, allozyme electrophoresis and known-locality specimens" (PDF). Animal Conservation. 4 (4): 357–367. doi:10.1017/s1367943001001421. S2CID 86757143.
- Rômulo, Nóbrega Alves; Washington, Silva Vieira; Gindomar, Santana (2008). "Reptiles used in traditional folk medicine: conservation implications". Biodiversity and Conservation. 17 (8): 2037–2049. doi:10.1007/s10531-007-9305-0. S2CID 42500066.
- Shi, Haitao; Parham, James Ford (2000). "Preliminary Observations of a Large Turtle Farm in Hainan Province, People's Republic of China". Turtle and Tortoise Newsletter. 3: 4–6. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
- Yasukawa, Yuichirou; Ota, Hidetoshi; Iverson, John B. (1996). "Geographic Variation and Sexual Size Dimorphism in Mauremys mutica (Cantor, 1842) (Reptilia: Bataguridae), with Description of a New Subspecies from the Southern Ryukyus, Japan" (PDF). Zoological Science. 13 (2): 303–317. doi:10.2108/zsj.13.303. hdl:2433/108626. S2CID 86329995.
- "Asian yellow pond turtle (Mauremys mutica)". Wildscreen Arkive. Archived from the original on 2015-09-08. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
Other websites
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