Mesoclemmys raniceps (GRAY, 1856)
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Mesoclemmys raniceps?
Mesoclemmys raniceps
Find more photos by Google images search: 
| Higher Taxa | Chelidae, Chelinae, Pleurodira, Testudines (turtles) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Black-lined Toadhead Turtle Portuguese: Cágado, Cágado-de-Cabeça-de-Sapo-Comum, Lalá E: Amazon Toadhead Turtle [heliostemma] Portuguese: Cágado, Perema-da-Cabeça-Amarela [heliostemma] |
| Synonym | Hydraspis raniceps GRAY 1856 Phrynops wermuthi MERTENS 1969 Phrynops (Batrachemys) nasutus wermuthi — ALDERTON 1988 Phrynops raniceps — IVERSON 1992 Batrachemys raniceps — MCCORD et al. 2001 Batrachemys heliostemma MCCORD, JOSEPH-OUNI & LAMAR 2001 Batrachemys heliostemma — MCCORD & JOSEPH-OUNI 2002 Batrachemys raniceps — MCCORD & JOSEPH-OUNI 2002 Batrachemys raniceps — SOUZA 2004 Batrachemys heliostemma — SOUZA 2004 Mesoclemmys heliostemma — BOUR & ZAHER 2005 Mesoclemmys raniceps — BOUR & ZAHER 2005 Batrachemys (Phrynops) raniceps — BONIN et al 2006 Batrachemys heliostemma — CISNEROS-HEREDIA 2006 Batrachemys heliostemma — REYNOLDS et al. 2007 Mesoclemmys heliostemma — VAN DIJK et al. 2011 Mesoclemmys raniceps — VAN DIJK et al. 2011 Batrachemys raniceps — RIVAS et al. 2012 Mesoclemmys gibba — BRITO et al. 2012 Phrynops (Batrachemys) raniceps — PHILIPPEN 2012 Batrachemys heliostemma — RIVAS et al. 2012 Mesoclemmys heliostemma — MOLINA et al. 2012 Phrynops (Batrachemys) heliostemma — PHILIPPEN 2012 Mesoclemmys raniceps — TTWG 2021 Mesoclemmys jurutiensis CUNHA, SAMPAIO, CARNEIRO & VOGT 2021 |
| Distribution | SE Colombia, E Peru, N Bolivia, Brazil (Amazon basin, Mato Grosso, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia), Ecuador (Amazonia, Sucumbíos, Orellana). wermuthi: Peru; Type locality: “Amazonian Peru”. Type locality: “Brazil, Para”. heliostemma: Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil (Roraima, Amazonas, Pará, Mato Grosso, Rondônia, Acre); Type locality: base of Pico da Neblina (situated on the Venezuela/Brazil border) on the left bank of Río Baria (=Río Mawarinuma) (4° 95’ N, 66° 10’ W), a tributary of the Rio Negro, Amazonas, Venezuela. jurutiensis: Brazil (Western Amazon, Pará); Type locality: Capiranga Community, Juruti-Velho Village, in Juruti municipality, State of Pará, Brazil (WGS84, 02036’16.20’’ S, 56024’40.80’’ W; 90 m elevvation). |
| Reproduction | oviparous. There are still no studies or published works on the reproduction of Mesoclemmys jurutiensis. However, a chick was found about 1 year old, which leads us to believe that the chicks hatch from the eggs during the months of March and April (Cunha, pers. obs.) |
| Types | Lectotype: BMNH 1947.3.5.92, formerly NHM 51.8.12.1; Bates collection, (designated by Bour & Pauler 1987). Holotype: USNM 541895 [heliostemma] Holotype: INPA-H41283 (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia), adult male (CL 179.0mm), collector: Fábio Andrew Gomes Cunha, 26 January 2019. Paratypes: INPA-H41284, INPA-H41285, INPA-H41286, INPA-H41381, INPA-H41379 [jurutiensis] |
| Diagnosis | |
| Comment | For a color illustration and distribution map see MCCORD & JOSEPH-OUNI 2002. Distribution: the report of M. raniceps from Peru (FERRONATO et al. 2011) is actually based on a misidentified M. gibba [see erratum to this paper]. Not in Venezuela fide Rivas et al. 2015. Habitat: freshwater (rivers, swamps) Synonymy: P. wermuthi has been synonymized with Phrynops raniceps by Bour & Pauler 1987. Cunha et al. 2019 found that eggs of M. raniceps produced offspring that look like raniceps and heliostemma, proving that both are color morphs of the same species. However, neither raniceps nor heliostemma were included in the phylogenetic analysis of Thomson et al. 2021. Mesoclemmys jurutiensis was synonymized with raniceps by Gallego-García et al. 2023. Diet (jurutiensis): Tadpoles were flushed from the stomachs of an adult female (3 mL) and a juvenile (1.9 mL) Mesoclemmys jurutiensis (Cunha et al. 2021). NCBI taxonID: 2866224 [jurutiensis] |
| Etymology | Named after Greek helios, "sun," and Greek stemma (grammatical gender neutral), "wreath," in reference to the bright yellow-orange facial bands found in many juveniles that extend like a wreath from the supra-tympanum over and across the eyes, ending and joining at the tip of the nose. M. jurutiensis was named after a small municipality in the interior of the Brazilian Amazon, Juruti, in western Pará, because most of the specimens were found in this area. It is a Latinized word referencing the city. The name Juruti (Yuru-ty) is derived from the indigenous name for the tree trunk Tupi, which means strong neck, alluding to the aspect of the dove that sings in this region and was common in the epoch of the colonization of this city. It is one of the 144 cities in the state of Pará, in northern Brazil, with a rich cultural and natural history. (Cunha et al. 2021). |
| References |
|
| External links |