Mauremys
Encyclopedia
Mauremys is a genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...

 in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Geoemydidae
Geoemydidae
Geoemydidae is the largest and most diverse family in the order Testudines with about 70 species. It includes the Eurasian pond and river turtles and Neotropical wood turtles.-Characteristics:...

 (formerly called Bataguridae). Ocadia
Ocadia
Ocadia is a genus of turtle in the family Geoemydidae . It is sometimes included in Mauremys. It contains the following species:* Chinese Stripe-necked Turtle, Ocadia sinensis...

and Chinemys
Chinemys
Chinemys is a genus of turtle in the family Geoemydidae . It is sometimes included in Mauremys, but they do not seem to be particularly close relatives.Species of the genus Chinemys are:...

are included here by some scientists, but not by the majority nor by hobbyists.

Species include:
  • Japanese pond turtle, Mauremys japonica
    Mauremys japonica
    The Japanese pond turtle is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. It is endemic to Japan. Its Japanese name is nihon ishigame that means Japanese stone turtle...

  • Yellow pond turtle, Mauremys mutica
    Mauremys mutica
    The Yellow pond turtle , is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae . It is found in China , Japan , Taiwan, and northern and central Vietnam and possibly adjacent Laos.It is a parent of several...

  • Vietnamese pond turtle or Annam leaf turtle, Mauremys annamensis
    Mauremys annamensis
    The Vietnamese pond turtle or Annam leaf turtle is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae.It can be distinguished from its relatives by its color pattern: the head is dark with three or four yellow stripes down the side...

    - formerly separated in Annamemys
  • Caspian turtle
    Caspian Turtle
    The Caspian turtle or Striped-neck terrapin is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae , living of the eastern Mediterranean region...

     or Striped-neck terrapin, Mauremys caspica
  • Balkan pond turtle
    Balkan pond turtle
    The Balkan pond turtle , is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae.- References :Bibliography...

     or Balkan terrapin Mauremys rivulata - formerly included in M. caspica
  • Spanish pond turtle
    Spanish pond turtle
    The Spanish pond turtle , is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae.- References :Bibliography...

     Mauremys leprosa - formerly included in M. caspica


The Fujian pond turtle
Fujian Pond Turtle
The Fujian Pond Turtle is a possibly also naturally occurring intergeneric hybrid turtle in the Geoemydidae family produced in larger numbers by Chinese turtle farms as a "copy" of the Golden Coin Turtle Cuora trifasciata. It appears to occur in China and Vietnam...

, described as Mauremys iversoni, is a farm bred hybrid, between Yellow pond turtle (usually females) and the Golden coin turtle or Cuora cyclornata
Cuora cyclornata
The Vietnamese three-striped box turtle also known as green rice turtle in China, is a species of the southeast Asian Genus Cuora . It is distributed from the extreme southern part of the Chinese Guangxi Province southwards to central Vietnam and central Laos People's Democratic Republic...

 (usually males). Similarly, the turtles described as Mauremys pritchardi
Mauremys pritchardi
Mauremys pritchardi is an intergeneric hybrid turtle in the Geoemydidae family. It was described to be from Myanmar and has been found in the wild in China and Japan and is produced to some extent in Chinese turtle farms...

are farm bred and wild occurring hybrids between the Chinese pond turtle
Chinese Pond Turtle
The Chinese pond turtle, Reeves' turtle or Chinese three-keeled pond turtle is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae . It is found in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. This specific turtle is semi-aquatic so it loves to bask in the sun on rocks or logs and can often be found leaving water to...

 and the Yellow pond turtle. While it is not unusual for valid species of geoemydid turtles to arise from hybrids, this is yet to be discussed with M. pritchardi, M. iversoni is probably not, since they only seem to be produced in farms and most males are sterile
Sterility (physiology)
Sterility is the physiological inability to effect sexual reproduction in a living thing, members of whose kind have been produced sexually. The term may be used in reference to* types of organism, such as the mule, a sterile hybrid;...

.
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