You are here » home › advanced search › Dermatemys mawii

Dermatemys mawii GRAY, 1847

IUCN Red List - Dermatemys mawii - Critically Endangered, CR
iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Dermatemys mawii?

Add your own observation of
Dermatemys mawii »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaDermatemydidae, Kinosternoidea, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Central American River Turtle
G: Tabasco-Schildkröte
S: Tortuga Blanca 
SynonymDermatemys mawii GRAY 1847: 60
Emys berardii DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1851
Emys berardii — DUMÉRIL 1852: 231
Dermatemys mawii — GRAY 1864: 391
Emys mawii (fide GRAY 1864: 391)
Dermatemys mavei COPE 1868 (nomen substitutum pro D. mawii)
Dermatemys abnormis COPE 1868
Dermatemys salvinii GRAY 1870
Dermatemys mawii — GÜNTHER 1885: 10
Emys dermatemys DUMÉRIL & BOCOURT 1888 (ex errore)
Dermatemys abnormis — BAUR 1888: 595
Limnochelone micrura WERNER 1901: 298
Dermatemys mawei — MOLL 1986
Dermatemys mawii — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 92
Dermatemys mawii — LINER 1994: 31
Dermatemys mawii — KÖHLER 2000: 21
Dermatemys mawii — WILSON et al. 2013
Dermatemys mawii — TTWG 2021 
DistributionMexico (C/S Veracruz, Tabasco, N Chiapas, S Campeche, S Quintana Roo, but absent from most of the Yucatan Peninsula),
N Guatemala, Belize, (Tetela, Oaxaca ?)

Type locality: "South America" (in error); restricted to "Alvarado, Veracruz," Mexico, by Smith and Taylor 1950: 346.  
Reproductionoviparous. Temperature‐dependent sex determination (TSD) fide Cornejo-Páramo et al. 2020 (and references therein). 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1947.3.4.12.
Holotype: USNM 6545; Syntype: ANSP 61 [abnormis] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (3073 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentDistribution: Not listed for Honduras by WILSON & MCCRANIE (2002) but there are older (apparently incorrect) reports, e.g. NW Honduras (Pough et al. 1998).

This is one of the 25 most endangered turtle species according to a 2003 assessment by the IUCN.

Type species: Dermatemys mawii GRAY 1847: 60 is the type species of the genus Dermatemys GRAY 1847: 55

Habitat: freshwater (lakes, quiet rivers) 
EtymologyNamed after Lieutenant Mawe, a British naval officer who collected the holotype (1833).

The genus was named after Greek dermatos (δέρματος), skin, hide + Greek emys (ἐμῠ́ς), freshwater tortoise. [“...scutellis membranaceis tenuissimis defenso...”]. 
References
  • Adler, K. 1997. Illustrations of reptiles. Fauna 1 (1): 64-71
  • Aguilar-López JL, Luría-Manzano R, Pineda E, Canseco-Márquez L 2021. Selva Zoque, Mexico: an important Mesoamerican tropical region for reptile species diversity and conservation. ZooKeys 1054: 127-153 - get paper here
  • Baur, G. 1888. Osteologische Notizen über Reptilien. Fortsetzung III, IV, V. Zool. Anz. 11: 417-424, 592-597, 736-740 - get paper here
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Bishop, Nichole D.; John Polisar, Peter J. Eliazar, Raymond R. Carthy & Karen A. Bjorndal 2022. Diet of Dermatemys mawii, an Aquatic Turtle That Relies Heavily on Terrestrial Vegetation Chelonian Conservation and Biology Jun 2022 Vol. 21, No. 1: 37-45 - get paper here
  • Bonin, F., Devaux, B. & Dupré, A. 2006. Turtles of the World. English translation by P.C.H. Pritchard. Johns Hopkins University Press, 416 pp.
  • Bour, R. 2008. Global diversity of turtles (Chelonii; Reptilia) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia 595:593–598 - get paper here
  • Calderón-Mandujano RR, Hernández-Arana HA, Flores-Villela OA 2017. Distribution and Abundance of the Central American River Turtle, Dermatemys Mawii, in Southern Quintana Roo, Mexico: Implications for a Regional Conservation Strategy. J Biodivers Endanger Species 5: 198. - get paper here
  • Campbell, J.A. 1998. Amphibians and reptiles of northern Guatemala, the Yucatán, and Belize. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, xiii + 380 pp. - get paper here
  • Carr, J.L., J.W. Bickham & R.H. Dean 1981. The Karyotype and Chromosomal Banding Patterns of the Central American River Turtle Dermatemys mawii Herpetologica 37 (2): 92-95. - get paper here
  • Casas-Andreu, G., F.R. Méndez-De la Cruz and X. Aguilar-Miguel. 2004. Anfibios y Reptiles; pp. 375–390, in A.J.M. García-Mendoza, J. Ordoñez and M. Briones-Salas (ed.). Biodiversidad de Oaxaca. Instituto de Biología, UNAM-Fondo Oaxaqueño para la Conservación de la Naturaleza-World Wildlife Fund, México, D. F.
  • Cedeño-Vázquez, J. Rogelio, Humberto Bahena-Basave and Pablo M. Beutelspacher-García. 2016. Dermatemys mawii Gray, 1847. Mexico, Quintana Roo. Mesoamerican Herpetology 3 (3): 782–783 - get paper here
  • Cornejo-Páramo, P., Lira-Noriega, A., Ramírez-Suástegui, C. et al. 2020. Sex determination systems in reptiles are related to ambient temperature but not to the level of climatic fluctuation. BMC Evol Biol 20: 103 - get paper here
  • Duellman, W. E. 1963. Amphibians and reptiles of the rainforest of Southern El Peten, Guatemala. Univ. Kansas Publ. Mus. Nat. Hist. 15: 205-49. - get paper here
  • Duméril, A.H.A. 1852. Description des reptiles nouveaux ou imparfaitement connus de la collection du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, et remarques sur la classification et les charactéres des reptiles. Archives du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle. Paris, 6: 209-264. - get paper here
  • Ernst,C.H. and Barbour,R.W. 1989. Turtles of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. - London
  • EVERS, SERJOSCHA W.; WALTER G. JOYCE, JONAH N. CHOINIERE, GABRIEL S. FERREIRA, CHRISTIAN FOTH, GUILHERME HERMANSON, HONGYU YI, CATHERINE M. JOHNSON, INGMAR WERNEBURG & ROGER B.J. BENSON. 2022. Independent origin of large labyrinth size in turtles. Nature Communications 13(1): 5807. - get paper here
  • González-Porter GP, Maldonado JE, Flores-Villela O, Vogt RC, Janke A, et al. 2013. Cryptic Population Structuring and the Role of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec as a Gene Flow Barrier in the Critically Endangered Central American River Turtle. PLoS One 8 (9): e71668. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0071668 - get paper here
  • Gray, J. E. 1864. Additional observations on Dermatemys, a genus of Emydidae from Central America. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) 14: 391-392 - get paper here
  • Gray, J.E. 1847. Description of a new genus of Emydae. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (1) 20: 59-60 - get paper here
  • Gray, J.E. 1847. Description of a new genus of Emydidae. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1847: 55-56 - get paper here
  • Günther, A. C. L. G. 1885. Reptilia and Batrachia. Biologia Centrali-Américana. Taylor, & Francis, London, 326 pp. [published in parts from 1885-1902; reprint by the SSAR 1987] - get paper here
  • Iverson J B; Mittermeier R A 1980. Dermatemydidae. River turtles. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles ( 237: 1-4 - get paper here
  • JENNINGS, NICOLE D.; EMILY V. GATI, GERSON A. RAMIREZ, JENNA COLE, BRITTANY MASON, VENETIA BRIGGS-GONZALEZ & FRANK J. MAZZOTTI 2020. A communal nesting site of the Central American river turtle (Dermatemys mawii) along the New River, Belize. Herpetological Bulletin 152: - get paper here
  • Johnson, Jerry D.; Vicente Mata-Silva, Elí García Padilla, and Larry David Wilson 2015. The Herpetofauna of Chiapas, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation. Mesoamerican Herpetology 2 (3): 272–329. - get paper here
  • Joyce, Walter G.; James F. Parham , Tyler R. Lyson , Rachel C. M. Warnock and Philip C. J. Donoghue 2013. A Divergence Dating Analysis of Turtles Using Fossil Calibrations: An Example of Best Practices. Journal of Paleontology, 87(4):612-634 - get paper here
  • Köhler, G. 2000. Reptilien und Amphibien Mittelamerikas, Bd 1: Krokodile, Schildkröten, Echsen. Herpeton Verlag, Offenbach, 158 pp.
  • Köhler, G. 2008. Reptiles of Central America. 2nd Ed. Herpeton-Verlag, 400 pp.
  • Lee, J. C. 2000. A field guide to the amphibians and reptiles of the Maya world. Cornell University Press, Ithaca,
  • Legler, J.M.& Vogt, R.C. 2013. The Turtles of Mexico: Land and Freshwater Forms. University of California Press, 416 pp. - get paper here
  • Marlin, Jacob and Heather Barrett. 2014. Endangered turtles find a home at the new Hicatee Conservation and Research Center in Belize. Turtle Survival 2014: 53-54 - get paper here
  • Mata-Silva, Vicente, Jerry D. Johnson, Larry David Wilson and Elí García-Padilla. 2015. The herpetofauna of Oaxaca, Mexico: composition, physiographic distribution, and conservation status. Mesoamerican Herpetology 2 (1): 6–62 - get paper here
  • Mendyk, Robert W. and Dustin C. Smith. 2016. Dermatemys mawii Gray, 1847. Longevity. Mesoamerican Herpetology 3 (2): 477-478 - get paper here
  • Mendyk, Robert W., and Brian R. Eisele. 2016. Preliminary notes on caudal prehensility in the Hicatee, Dermatemys mawii (Testudines: Dermatemydidae). Mesoamerican Herpetology 3(4): 1026–1029 - get paper here
  • Moll,D. 1986. The distribution, status, and level of exploitation of freshwater turtle Dermatemys mawii in Belize, Central America. Biol. Cons. 35: 87-96 - get paper here
  • Platt, S G; Barrett, H A; Marlin, J A; Serano, J & Rainwater, T R; 2019. Dermatemys mawii (Central American River Turtle) Description of neonates. Herpetological Review 50 (1): 85-86 - get paper here
  • Pough, F. Harvey; Andrews, Robin M.; Cadle, John E.; Crump, Martha L.; Savitzky, Alan H. & Kentwood D. Wells 1998. Herpetology. Upper Saddle River, NJ [USA] (Prentice-Hall, Inc.), xi + 577 pp.
  • Rainwater, Thomas R.; Thomas Pop, Octavio Cal, Anthony Garel, Steven G. Platt, and Rick Hudson 2012. A Recent Countrywide Status Survey of the Critically Endangered Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys mawii) in Belize. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 11 (1): 97-107. - get paper here
  • Rangel-Mendoza, Judith A., Iris A. Sánchez-González, Marco. A. López-Luna, and Manuel Weber 2014. Health and Aquatic Environment Assessment of Captive Central American River Turtles, Dermatemys mawii, at Two Farms in Tabasco, Mexico. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Jul 2014, Vol. 13, No. 1: 96-109. - get paper here
  • Reyes-Grajales, Eduardo; Matteo Cazzanelli, Nora P. López-León, Alejandra Sepúlveda-Lozada, Luis Antonio Muñoz Alonso & Rocío Rodiles-Hernández 2023. The Importance of Riparian and Aquatic Resources in the Diet of Dermatemys mawii in a Lentic System in Southern Mexico. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Dec 2023 Vol. 22, No. 2: 137-145 - get paper here
  • Reynolds, Robert P.; Steve W. Gotte, and Carl H. Ernst 2007. Catalog of Type Specimens of Recent Crocodilia and Testudines in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 626: 1-49 - get paper here
  • Siebenrock, F. 1905. Chelonologische Notizen. Zool. Anz. 29: 460-468 - get paper here
  • Smith, H.M. & Taylor,E.H. 1950. An annotated checklist and key to the reptiles of Mexico exclusive of the snakes. Bull. US Natl. Mus. 199: 1-253 - get paper here
  • Stuart, L. C. 1935. A contribution to a knowledge of the herpetology of a portion of the savanna region of Central Peten, Guatemala. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Miscellaneous Publications 29: 1-56 - get paper here
  • Stuart, L. C. 1937. Some further notes on the amphibians and reptiles of the Peten Forest of Northern Guatemala. Copeia 1937 (1): 67-70 - get paper here
  • Stuart, L. C. 1948. The amphibians and reptiles of Alta Verapaz Guatamala. Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 69: 1-109 - get paper here
  • Torres-Hernández, LA, Ramírez-Bautista A, Cruz-Elizalde R, Hernández-Salinas U, Berriozabal-Islas C, DeSantis DL, Johnson JD, Rocha A, García-Padilla E, Mata-Silva V, Fucsko LA, and Wilson LD. 2021. The herpetofauna of Veracruz, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 15(2) [General Section]: 72–155 - get paper here
  • TTWG; Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., Bour, R., Fritz, U., Georges, A., Shaffer, H.B., and van Dijk, P.P. 2021. Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (9th Ed.). In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., van Dijk, P.P., Stanford, C.B., Goode, E.V., Buhlmann, K.A., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Chelonian Research Monographs 8:1–472. doi:10.3854/crm.8.checklist.atlas.v9.2021. - get paper here
  • Werner, F. 1901. Neue Reptilien des Königsberger Zoologischen Museums. Zool. Anz. 24: 297-301 - get paper here
  • Wilson, Larry David and James R. McCranie 2002. Update on the list of reptiles know from Honduras. Herpetological Review 33 (2):90-94 - get paper here
  • Wilson, Larry David; Vicente Mata-Silva, Jerry D. Johnson 2013. A conservation reassessment of the reptiles of Mexico based on the EVS measure. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 7 (1): 1–47 - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:


Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator