Caspian turtle

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Caspian turtle
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
Family: Geoemydidae
Genus: Mauremys
Species:
M. caspica
Binomial name
Mauremys caspica
(Gmelin, 1774)
Synonyms[1]
Mauremys caspica caspica
  • Testudo caspica Gmelin, 1774
  • Emys caspica
    — Schweigger, 1812
  • Clemmys caspica
    — Wagler, 1830
  • Emys caspia
    ex errore
    )
  • Testudo caspia — Gray, 1831
  • Terrapene caspica
    — Bonaparte, 1832
  • Clemmys [caspica] caspica
    — Siebenrock, 1909
  • Mauremys caspica
    — McDowell, 1964
  • Mauremys caspica caspica
    — Pritchard, 1966
Mauremys caspica siebenrocki
  • Emys grayi Günther, 1869
  • Emmenia grayi — Gray, 1870
  • Mauremys caspica siebenrocki Wischuf, 1996 (nomen nudum)
  • Mauremys caspica siebenrocki Wischuf & Fritz, 1997
  • Mauremys caspica siebenrockii Bour, 2002
    (ex errore)
Mauremys caspica ventrimaculata
  • Mauremys caspica ventrimaculata
    Wischuf & Fritz, 1996
  • Mauremys caspica schiras Wischuf, 1996 (nomen nudum)
  • Mauremys caspica ventriculata Obst, 2003
    (ex errore)

The Caspian turtle (Mauremys caspica), also known as the striped-neck terrapin, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae (=Bataguridae). It is found in west Asia, in Iran and central Turkey, northward to the Republic of Georgia and eastward to southwestern Turkmenistan, and in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain.

Description

Mauremys caspica is a tan to blackish, medium-sized, semiaquatic turtle, which may attain a

tympanum
to contact the posterior rim of the orbit, and two additional stripes continue across the snout and pass ventral to the orbit. The neck, limbs, and tail are tan gray to olive or black with yellow, cream, or gray stripes or reticulations. M. caspica has 52 chromosomes; (Killebrew, 1977a; Bickham and Carr, 1983). Females are generally larger than males, have flat plastra and shorter tails with the vent under the rim of the carapace. The smaller males have concave plastra and longer, thicker tails with the vent beyond the rim of the carapace.

Systematics

Three

western Caspian turtle
was formerly treated as a subspecies but is now recognized as its own species.

The eastern Caspian turtle (Mauremys caspica caspica)

nominate subspecies occurs in central Turkey and northern Iran, northward to the Republic of Georgia and eastward to southwestern Turkmenistan. It has wider reticulations on its carapace than M. c. rivulata, and a yellow-to-tan plastron with a regularly shaped, large, dark blotch on each scute. These more-or-less symmetrically arranged plastral spots may merge to one dark central spot, but a yellow border to the plastron often remains.[3] The soft parts are mainly dark, and the bridge is mainly yellow with some dark lines or spots (but may be dark in old melanistic individuals).[4]
Its plastral formula is fem > abd > pect > gul > hum > an for males, and abd > fem > pect > gul > hum > an for females.

Siebenrock's Caspian turtle (M. c. siebenrocki )[5] occurs in Iran and Iraq, with relict populations in Saudi Arabia and on the island of Bahrain; it intergrades with M. c. caspica in Mesopotamia. This light form with contrasting colors resembles M. c. caspica, but has a yellow-to-orange plastron with a small to medium-sized, regularly shaped dark blotch on each scute. The soft parts are lighter than in M. c. caspica, and, unlike in other subspecies, age-related melanism does not occur in this subspecies.[4]

The spotted-bellied Caspian turtle (M. c. ventrimaculata)

Kor and Maharloo
basins in southern Iran. It is distinguished from the M. c. caspica and M. c. siebenrocki subspecies by a yellow plastron with one or several irregularly shaped black spots on each scute. In older individuals this results in a complex plastral pattern of irregular dark markings.

The

Mauremys rivulata, ranges throughout southeastern Europe (former Yugoslavia to Greece, the Ionian Islands, Crete, and Cyprus), Bulgaria, eastern to south-central Turkey, coastal Syria, Lebanon, and Israel; records from the vicinity of Ankara and from Lake Emir are questioned by Fritz.[7] This species has narrow or fine reticulations on its carapace (which may be lost with age),[4] and a totally black plastron and bridge. Age-related flavism may occur, resulting in a mainly yellow plastron with black reduced to the seams. This species can be separated from melanistic M. c. caspica by differences in head, neck, and foreleg patterns.[4] Its plastral formula usually is abd > fem > pect > gul > an > hum in both sexes, but variations of this have been described in İzmir populations.[8]

According to Fritz and Wischuf,

semi-species". Rivulata and members of the main caspica group are known to produce (presumably fertile) hybrids, so they should never be housed together in captivity[9]

The Spanish pond turtle (Mauremys leprosa) was formerly considered a subspecies of M. caspica, but studies of the

electrophoretic properties of its proteins,[10] and studies of its morphology[11]
have shown it to be a separate species.

Etymology

The subspecific name, siebenrocki, is in honor of Austrian herpetologist Friedrich Siebenrock.[12]

Ecology

Mauremys caspica occurs in large numbers in almost any permanent

freshwater body within its range. It also lives in irrigation canals and is quite tolerant of brackish water. The turtles at one Iraq site lacked the ability to swim.[13]
Instead, they would crawl out of the water periodically to breathe and then slide back in again. A captive from there could not be induced to swim. Reed thought this behavior to be an adaptation to the extreme variability in the supply of surface water in the area.

Breeding usually takes place in early spring, but may also occur in the fall.[14] The courtship behavior has not been described, but must be similar to that in captivity. Nesting occurs in June and July. A typical clutch is four to six, elongated 20-30 x 35–40 mm (1.0 x 1.5 in), brittle-shelled, white eggs. Hatchlings have round carapaces about 33 mm (1.3 in) in length, and are brighter colored than the adults. The Caspian turtle may occur in large populations in certain areas, especially in permanent water bodies. In temporary waters, it is forced to aestivate in the mud in summer, and the more northern populations hibernate during winter. It often basks, but disappears at the least disturbance. Many are killed each year by humans who obtain their eggs to use in treating ubiquitous eye ailments.[14] Storks and vultures also take a heavy toll of juveniles and adults, respectively. It is carnivorous as juveniles with a shift towards being omnivorous as adults; larger individuals were observed to be more herbivorous. It feeds on small

amphibians, carrion
, as well as a variety of aquatic and terrestrial plants.

References

  1. ISSN 1864-5755
    .
  2. ^ Gmelin, 1774.
  3. ^ a b c Wischuf and Fritz, 1996.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Fritz and Wischuf, 1997.
  5. ^ Wischuf and Fritz, in Fritz and Wischuf, 1997.
  6. ^ Valenciennes, 1833.
  7. ^ Fritz, 1995c.
  8. ^ Taskavak et al., 1997.
  9. ^ Buskirk et al., 2001.
  10. ^ Merkle, 1975.
  11. ^ Busack and Ernst, 1980.
  12. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5
    . (Mauremys caspica siebenrocki, p. 243).
  13. ^ Reed.
  14. ^ a b Anderson, 1979.

Further reading

External links
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