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Phrynops geoffroanus (SCHWEIGGER, 1812)

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Higher TaxaChelidae, Chelinae, Pleurodira, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Geoffroy’s Toadhead Turtle, Geoffroy’s Side-necked Turtle
tuberosus: Cotinga River Toadhead Turtle
Portuguese: Cágado, Cágado-de-Barbela, Cágado-de-Barbelas-Pintado, Cágado-de-Barbicha, Cágado-de-Barbixa, Cágado-de-Esgoto, Cágado-de-Ferradura-Comum, Cágado-do-Rio, Cangapara, Lalá, Tartaruga-do-Pescoço-de-Cobra 
SynonymEmys geoffroana SCHWEIGGER 1812
Emys Geoffreana SCHWEIGGER 1812 (fide BOULENGER 1886)
Emys depressa MERREM 1820 (non Emys depressa SPIX 1824)
Emys viridis SPIX 1824 (?)
Emys geoffroyana GRAY 1831 (nomen subst. pro E. geoffroana SCHWEIGGER)
Platemys geoffreana DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835: 418 (nomen subst. pro E. geoffroana)
Platemys Waglerii DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835: 422
Platemys Neuwiedii DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835: 425 (nomen subst. pro Emys depressa)
Platemys Geoffroyana — BOULENGER 1886: 424
Hydraspis geoffroyana — BOULENGER 1889
Hydraspis wagleri — BOULENGER 1889
Hydraspis boulengeri BOHLS 1895
Hydraspis lutzi Ihering in LUEDERWALDT 1926 (?)
Phrynops geoffroana — MERTENS et al. 1934
Phrynops geoffroana geoffroana — MÜLLER 1939
Phrynops geoffroanus — GORZULA & SEÑARIS 1999
Phrynops geoffroanus — MCCORD et al. 2001
Phrynops geoffroanus — BOUR & ZAHER 2005
Phrynops geoffroanus — CACCIALI et al. 2016
Phrynops geoffroanus — TTWG 2021 
DistributionSW/E Venezuela, SE Colombia, E Ecuador, E Peru, SW/E Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso, Goiás, Paraná, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro, Sergipe),
N Bolivia (Beni), Paraguay, NE Argentina (Corrientes, Misiones)

Type locality: “Brasilia”.  
Reproductionoviparous. 
TypesHolotype: MNHN-RA 9417
Holotype: ZSM 3008/0 [Emys viridis Spix, 1824] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis and Description (genus). The genus Phrynops is a member of the toadhead complex of chelid turtles, with the following characteristics: The head is flat and wide, with a blunt snout, and has a width between the tympana 15-20% of the median straight length of the carapace. Five to seven neural bones are present, usually in a contiguous anterior series. The first neural bone is present, contacting the proneural, and separates the first pair of costals. The carapace is relatively flat. The entoplastron is reduced, separating only the epiplastrals and very little of the hyoplastrals. The 11 th marginals are wider than the supracaudals. The lateral borders of the carapace are not upturned and without narrowing. There is no large round scale present at the distal end of the anteromedial row of tibial scales. The interanal seam of the plastron is longer than the interhumeral seam. The paired barbels usually are long (McCord et al. 2001).


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CommentSubspecies: Phrynops geoffroanus hilarii and P. g. tuberosus have been elevated to species status. For a color illustration and distribution map see MCCORD & JOSEPH-OUNI 2002. See also Carvalho et al. 2022 who found 4 or more lineages (depending on the loci studied) within the species.

Distribution: Not in Venezuela (fide RIVAS et al. 2012). Distribution not fixed for elevation. Reports from Guyana actually represent P. tuberosus (Cole et al. 2013: 525, McCord 2001).

Type species: Emys geoffroana SCHWEIGGER 1812 is the type species of the genus Phrynops WAGLER 1830. For a diagnosis of the genus see MCCORD et al. 2001.

Habitat: freshwater (rivers) 
EtymologyNamed in honor of Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1805-1861), French zoologist.

The genus was named after Greek, phryne for "toad" and Greek, ops for "appearance." The "Toadlike Turtle." (cf. Wagler, 1830: 135). 
References
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