Sometimes called the bearded toadheads but better known by their scientific name of Phrynops this genus 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...

s has often been a bit of a dumping ground for the short-necked South American turtles of the family Chelidae

Chelidae

The Chelidae are one of the three living families of the turtle suborder Pleurodira and are commonly called the Austro-South American Side Neck turtles. The Family is distributed in Australia, New Guinea, parts of Indonesia and throughout most of South America. It is a large family of turtles with...

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The genus is widely distributed in South America found in the Orinoco to Amazon and São Francisco to Paraná and adjacent river basins of Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and northeastern Argentina (Iverson, 1992).

Species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 include:

• Phrynops geoffroanus
  Phrynops geoffroanus
  Phrynops geoffroanus is a large species of side-necked turtle found in southwestern Venezuela, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and eastern Peru, southward and eastward through southwestern Brazil and northern Bolivia to Paraguay and northeastern Argentina, then northward through eastern...
  
  – Geoffroy's side-necked turtle
• Phrynops hilarii
  Phrynops hilarii
  Phrynops hilarii ranges in southern Brazil southward and westward into Uruguay and Argentina; possibly also in Paraguay and Bolivia....
  
  
• Phrynops tuberosus
  Phrynops tuberosus
  The Cotinga River Toadhead Turtle is a large species from South America. In the past it has been seen as a subspecies of Phrynops geoffroanus but it is currently afforded full species status....
  
  
• Phrynops williamsi