Yellow-headed temple turtle

Yellow-headed temple turtle
Yellow-headed temple turtle in Turtle Conservation Center, Cuc-Phuong, Vietnam
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Geoemydidae
Genus:	Heosemys
Species:	H. annandalii
Binomial name
Heosemys annandalii (Boulenger, 1903) [3]
Synonyms [4]
Cyclemys annandalii Boulenger, 1903 Hieremys annandalei M.A. Smith, 1916(ex errore) Cyclemys annandali Mell, 1929(ex errore) Cyclemys annandalei — M.A. Smith, 1930 Hieremys annandalii — M.A. Smith, 1930 Hieremys annandali — Mertens, L. Müller & Rust, 1934 Heosemys annandalii — Diesmos, Parham, B.L. Stuart & R.M. Brown, 2005

The yellow-headed temple turtle (Heosemys annandalii) is a large species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. The species is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Etymology

The common name, "yellow-headed temple turtle", is derived from the fact that it is often found near Buddhist temples within its range.^{[ citation needed ]}

The specific name, annandalii, is in honor of Scottish herpetologist Nelson Annandale. ^[5]

Description

H. annandalii may grow to over 20 in (51 cm) in straight carapace length.^{[ citation needed ]}

Behavior

H. annandalii is aquatic, and is generally herbivorous.^{[ citation needed ]}

Conservation status

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) suspended trade of yellow-headed temple turtles in July 2012. ^[6]

Geographic range

H. annandalii is found in Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and possibly Myanmar. ^{[3] [4]}

Habitat

Heosemys annandalii in Cuc Phuong Turtle Conservation Center, Vietnam

The preferred natural habitats of H. annandalii are wet forests and freshwater wetlands. ^[1]

Captivity

H. annandalii may live in captivity for up to 35 years.^{[ citation needed ]}

Two turtles were hatched in November 2019 at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Heosemys annadali has been breed in captivity. ^[7]

Parasites

Leeches, Placobdelloides siamensis on the carapace of a yellow-headed temple turtle (arrows)

The leech Placobdelloides siamensis is an ectoparasite of this turtle. ^[8]

References

1. Cota, M.; Horne, B.D.; McCormack, T.; Timmins, R.J. (2021). "Heosemys annandalii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021 e.T10041A495907. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T10041A495907.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
3. Rhodin 2011, p. 000.190
4. Fritz 2007, p. 224
5. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Hieremys annandalii, p. 9).
6. "Times-Tribune CITES 2012". 27 July 2012.
7. "Yellow-headed temple turtles hatch at the Turtle Conservation Centre in Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam". (10 April 2015). Asian Turtle Program. Archived from the original 8 January 2020.
8. Chiangkul, Krittiya; Trivalairat, Poramad; Purivirojkul, Watchariya (2018). "Redescription of the Siamese shield leech Placobdelloides siamensis with new host species and geographic range". Parasite. 25: 56. doi:10.1051/parasite/2018056. ISSN   1776-1042. PMC   6254108 . PMID   30474597.

External links

• Media related to Heosemys annandalii at Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography

• Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Iverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Bour, Roger (2011-12-31). "Turtles of the world, 2011 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status" (PDF). Chelonian Research Monographs. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-01-31.
• Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 149–368. doi: 10.3897/vz.57.e30895 .

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1903). "Report on the Batrachians and Reptiles". pp. 131–178. In: Annandale N, Robinson HC (1903). Fasciculi Malayenses: Anthropological and Zoological Results of an Expedition to Perak and the Siamese Malay States, 1901-1902. Zoology, Part I. London, New York and Bombay: Longmans, Green & Co. for The University Press of Liverpool. 189 pp. (Cyclemys annandalii, new species, pp. 142–144 + Plates VII-VIII).
• Chan-ard, Tanya; Parr, John W.K.; Nabhitabhata, Jarujin (2015). A Field Guide to the Reptiles of Thailand. New York: Oxford University Press. 314 pp. ISBN   978-0-19-973649-2 (hardcover), ISBN   978-0-19-973650-8 (paperback).
• 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. ("Hieremys annandalei [sic]", pp. 107–109, Figures 24-25).