Japanese pond turtle

Japanese pond turtle
Japanese pond turtle (Mauremys japonica)
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Geoemydidae
Genus:	Mauremys
Species:	M. japonica
Binomial name
Mauremys japonica (Temminck & Schlegel in Siebold, 1835) synonyms = Emys vulgaris japonica — Temminck & Schlegel, 1835 Emys japonica — Gray, 1844 Clemmys japonica — Strauch, 1862 Mauremys japonica — McDowell, 1964 Ocadia japonica — Vetter, 2006

The Japanese pond turtle (Mauremys japonica) 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. Its population has decreased somewhat due to habitat loss, but it is not yet considered a threatened species.

This species is known to hybridize with the Chinese pond turtle, the Chinese stripe-necked turtle and the Chinese box turtle (and possibly other Geoemydidae) in captivity. As these three species are much rarer and strongly declining in the wild, this should be avoided.

References

• Template:IUCN2006
• Buskirk, James R.; Parham, James F. & Feldman, Chris R. (2005): On the hybridisation between two distantly related Asian turtles (Testudines: Sacalia × Mauremys). Salamandra 41: 21-26. PDF fulltext
• Ernst, C. H. and Barbour, R. W. 1989. Turtles of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
• Highfield, A. C. 1996. Practical Encyclopedia of Keeping and Breeding Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles. Carapace Press, London, England.
• Pritchard, P. C. H. 1979. Encyclopedia of Turtles. TFH Publications, Neptune, New Jersey.