Vietnamese pond turtle

Vietnamese pond turtle
Conservation status
Critically 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:	Mauremys annamensis
Binomial name
Mauremys annamensis (Siebenrock, 1903)
Synonyms[1]
Cyclemys annamensis Siebenrock, 1903 Cuora (Cyclemys) annamensis Bourret, 1927 Annamemys merkleni Bourret, 1939 Annamemys annamensis Savage, 1953 Annamemys mekleni Tien, 1957 (ex errore) Mauremys annamensis Iverson & McCord, 1994 Annamemys annamemys Highfield, 1996 (ex errore) Cathaiemys annamensis Vetter, 2006

The Vietnamese pond turtle or Annam leaf turtle (Mauremys annamensis) is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae.

It can be distinguished from its relatives by its color pattern: the head is dark with three or four yellow stripes down the side. The plastron (belly shield) is firmly attached, yellow or orange, with a black blotch on each scute.^[2]

Endemic to a small area in central Vietnam,^[2] it was reportedly abundant in the 1930s, but all field surveys after 1941 had failed to locate any individuals in the wild.^[3] As it was occasionally seen traded as food, it was not yet extinct in the wild however.^[4]

In 2006, a wild population of M. annamensis was found near Hội An in Quảng Nam Province.^[3] Despite its rarity, specimens have been observed for sale in China and Hong Kong, and have been illicitly imported into the USA. A small number are being captive-bred on Hainan Island in southern China,^[4] as well as at the Cuc Phuong Turtle Conservation Center located in Cúc Phương National Park in northern Vietnam.^[5] The species is nonetheless close to extinction in the wild, as illegal hunting seems to continue.^[2]

Hybridization with other Geoemydidae genera is known to occur. The species has produced hybrids with the Malayan Box Turtle in captivity. In addition, the supposed new species Ocadia glyphistoma has turned out to be the offspring of a male Chinese stripe-necked turtle and a female of the present species; it might have been taken from the wild or also have been captive-bred. Captive Vietnamese pond turtles - which are occasionally available to experienced hobbyists, under the auspices of the IUCN-coordinated captive-breeding program - must therefore never be housed with related species.^[6] Hybridization in the wild would not seem to constitute a major threat, as the two parent species of "Ocadia" × glyphistoma are not closely related, and the hybrids are thus likely to be sterile. However, with a species as rare as the Vietnamese pond turtle, more research into this issue is certainly necessary.

References

1. ↑ Fritz Uwe; Peter Havaš (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology 57 (2): 228. ISSN 18640-5755. Archived from the original on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 29 May 2012. 
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Asian Turtle Network: Mauremys annamensis. Version of August, 2006. Retrieved 9 December 2006.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Asian Turtle Network: Mauremys annamensis recorded in natural habitat after 65 years. Version of 2006-DEC-07. Retrieved 3 September 2007.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 IUCN: Inclusion of Annam Pond Turtle Annamemys (Mauremys) annamensis in Appendix II. Retrieved 9 December 2006.
5. ↑ Asian Turtle Network: Cuc Phuong Turtle Conservation Center and by IUCN-affiliated breeders. Retrieved 9 December 2006.
6. ↑ Parham et al. (2001), Buskirk et al. (2005).

• Asian Turtle Trade Working Group (2000). "Mauremys annamensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 11 May 2014. 
• 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
• 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. Animal Conservation 4(4): 357–367. HTML abstract Erratum: Animal Conservation 5(1): 86 HTML abstract

External links

• Major infusion of new bloodlines forecast for the Vietnam Pond Turtle, Mauremys annamensis, TMG
• Mauremys Gallery

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.