Japanese pond turtle

Japanese pond turtle
Japanese pond turtle (Mauremys japonica)
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Geoemydidae
Genus:	Mauremys
Species:	M. japonica
Binomial name
Mauremys japonica (Temminck & Schlegel in Siebold, 1835 [3] )
Synonyms [4]
Emys vulgaris japonicaTemminck & Schlegel, 1835 Emys japonicaGray, 1844 Emys caspica var. japonicaDuméril & Bibron, 1852 Clemmys japonicaStrauch, 1862 Mauremys japonicaMcDowell, 1964 Ocadia japonicaVetter, 2006

The Japanese pond turtle (Mauremys japonica), also called commonly the Japanese pond terrapin and the Japanese pond tortoise, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae endemic to Japan. Its Japanese name is nihon ishigame, Japanese stone turtle. Its population has decreased somewhat due to habitat loss, but it is not yet considered a threatened species.

This species is known to hybridize with the Chinese pond turtle, the Chinese stripe-necked turtle, and the Chinese box turtle (and possibly other Geoemydidae) in captivity. As these three species are much rarer and strongly declining in the wild, this should be avoided. ^{[5] [6]}

The Japanese pond turtle is an aquatic species found in many freshwater bodies of water. These include rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps, marshes, and irrigated rice paddies in the flatlands surrounding highlands. ^[7] Although they can be found on both flatlands and on the slopes of the mountains, studies have shown they are more likely to thrive on the flatlands. ^[8] This can be essential to understanding the conservation measures needed to protect this near-threatened species.

References

1. Asian Turtle Trade Working Group (2016) [errata version of 2000 assessment]. "Mauremys japonica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2000: e.T39612A97370705. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2000.RLTS.T39612A10251032.en . Retrieved 27 October 2022.
2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
3. Temminck, C. J., and H. Schlegel. 1835. Reptilia. Chelonii. In: Ph. Fr. de Siebold, 1833-1838, Fauna Japonica. Leyden. 144 pp.
4. Fritz Uwe; Peter Havaš (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 229. doi: 10.3897/vz.57.e30895 . ISSN   1864-5755.
5. 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 ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
6. Suzuki, Dai; Yabe, Takashi; Hikida, Tsutomu (December 2013). "Hybridization between Mauremys japonica and Mauremys reevesii Inferred by Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA Analyses" . Journal of Herpetology. 48 (4): 445–454. doi:10.1670/11-320. ISSN   0022-1511. S2CID   86411251.
7. "Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group" . Retrieved 2022-10-28.
8. Kagayama, Shawichi (August 2020). "Geographic Variation in the Growth of Japanese Pond Turtles, Mauremys japonica, in the Flatland and Mountain Regions of Chiba Prefecture, Japan" . Current Herpetology. 39 (2): 87–97. doi:10.5358/hsj.39.87. ISSN   1345-5834. S2CID   221348416.

• Ernst, C. H. & Barbour, R. W. (1989). Turtles of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
• Highfield, A. C. (1996). Practical Encyclopedia of Keeping and Breeding Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles. Carapace Press, London, England.
• Pritchard, P. C. H. (1979). Encyclopedia of Turtles. TFH Publications, Neptune, New Jersey.
• Spinks, Phillip Q.; Shaffer, Bradley H.; Iverson, John B. & McCord, William P. (2004). Phylogenetic hypotheses for the turtle family Geomydidae. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 32, 164–182. Academic Press, Cambridge:MA.
• Kagayama, S. (2020). Geographic Variation in the Growth of Japanese pond turtles, Maureys japonica, in the Flatland and mountain regions of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Current Herpetology, 39(2), 87. https://doi.org/10.5358/hsj.39.87
• Kagayama, S. (2022). Life history stage and sex-specific survival rates for the Japanese pond turtle, mauremys japonica, in the foothill region of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Current Herpetology, 41(1). https://doi.org/10.5358/hsj.41.138
• Suzuki, D., & Hikida, T. (2011). Mitochondrial phylogeography of the Japanese pond turtle, Mauremys japonica (Testudines, Geoemydidae). Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 49(2), 141–147. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0469.2010.00577.x
• Yasukawa, Y., Yabe, T., & Ota, H. (2008). Mauremys japonica (Temminck and Schlegel 1835) – Japanese pond turtle. Chelonian Research Monographs. https://doi.org/10.3854/crm.5.003.japonica.v1.2008

External links

• Mauremys japonica, The Reptile Database