European pond terrapin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| European Pond Terrapin | |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Family: | Emydidae |
| Genus: | Emys |
| Species: | E. orbicularis |
| Binomial name | |
| Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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The European pond terrapin (also European pond turtle or European pond tortoise), Emys orbicularis is a turtle found in southern and central Europe, West Asia and North Africa. It lives in and around slow-flowing water and hibernates for up to seven months of the year at the bottom of the water. The pond turtle is a medium size turtle and varies quite a bit across its distribution, from 12 to 38 cm length. Its shell is brown with a hint of green, spotted yellow.
In the early post-glacial periode the pond turtle had a much wider distribution, being found as far north as southern Sweden.
[edit] Parasites
This species hosts several species of parasites, including Haemogregarina stepanovi, monogeneans of genus Polystomoides, vascular trematodes of genus Spirhapalum and many nematode species.
[edit] References
- ^ Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (1996). Emys orbicularis. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
[edit] External links
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