Brown roofed turtle
Brown roofed turtle | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Cryptodira |
Superfamily: | Testudinoidea |
Family: | Geoemydidae |
Genus: | Pangshura |
Species: | P. smithii
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Binomial name | |
Pangshura smithii (Gray, 1863)
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Synonyms[1][3] | |
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The brown roofed turtle (Pangshura smithii) is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. The species is endemic to South Asia. Two subspecies are recognized.
Etymology
The specific name, smithii, is in honor of Scottish zoologist Andrew Smith.[4]
Description
The
plastron is feebly angulated laterally. The front lobe is rounded. The hind lobe is angularly notched and as long as or a little shorter than the width of the bridge. The longest median suture is that between the abdominals, which about equals the length of the front lobe. The gulars are usually shorter than the suture between the humerals, their suture with the latter shields forming a right angle. The inguinal is large, and the axillary is smaller. The head is moderate. The snout is short, obtuse, and feebly prominent. The jaws have denticulated edges. The upper jaw is not notched mesially. The alveolar surface of the upper jaw is broad, and the median ridge is nearer the inner than the outer border. There are bony choanae between the orbits. The width of the lower jaw at the symphysis is less than the diameter of the orbit. The fore limbs have large transverse scales. The carapace is pale olive-brown above, and the dorsal keel is usually blackish. The plastral shields and the lower surface of the marginals are dark brown, bordered with yellow. The straight-line carapace length is 8.5 in (22 cm).[5]
Brown roofed turtles exhibit ZZ/ZW sex determination, in contrast to the temperature-dependent sex determination of most turtles.[6]
Subspecies and geographic ranges
Two subspecies are recognized, including the
nominotypical subspecies.[3]
- P. s. smithii (.
- P. s. pallidipes (Moll, 1987), is found in the northern tributaries of the Ganges in India and Nepal.
Habitat
The preferred natural habitats of P. smithii are freshwater swamps and rivers. These creatures also prefer to bask in the sun, twice a day. They often prefer muddy areas.[7]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ ISSN 1864-5755.
- ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Kachuga smithii, p. 246).
- ^ Boulenger GA (1890).
- S2CID 14434440.
- ^ Species Pangshura smithii at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
Further reading
- Auffenberg, Walter; Khan, Naeem Ahmed (1991). "Studies of Pakistan reptiles: Notes on Kachuga smithi ". Hamadryad 16: 25-29.
- Boulenger GA (1890). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Kachuga smithii, p. 42).
- ISBN 0-88359-056-5. (Pangshura smithii, p. 129).
- Gray JE (1863). "Notice of a new species of Batagur ". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1863: 253. (Batagur smithii, new species).
- Moll EO (1987). "Survey of the freshwater turtles of India. Part II: The genus Kachuga ". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 84: 7-25. (Kachuga smithii pallidipes, new subspecies, p. 8 + Plate 3, figures B-C).
- Smith MA (1931). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. I.—Loricata, Testudines. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xxviii + 185 pp. + Plates I-II. ("Kachuga smithi [sic]", pp. 125–126).
External links
- Spinks, Phillip Q.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Iverson, John B.; McCord, William P. (2004). "Phylogenetic hypotheses for the turtle family Geoemydidae" (PDF). PMID 15186805. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2010-06-11.