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Mesoclemmys dahli (ZANGERL & MEDEM, 1958)

IUCN Red List - Mesoclemmys dahli - Critically Endangered, CR
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Higher TaxaChelidae, Chelinae, Pleurodira, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Dahl’s Toadhead Turtle 
SynonymPhrynops (Batrachemys) dahli ZANGERL & MEDEM 1958
Batrachemys dahli — GOTCH 1986
Phrynops (Batrachemys) dahli — ALDERTON 1988
Phrynops dahli — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989
Batrachemys dahli — MCCORD et al. 2001
Batrachemys dahli — MCCORD & JOSEPH-OUNI 2002
Mesoclemmys dahli — BOUR & ZAHER 2005
Batrachemys (Phrynops) dahli — BONIN et al 2006
Batrachemys dahli — VAN DIJK et al. 2011
Mesoclemmys dahli — TTWG 2021
Mesoclemmys dahli — TTWG 2025 
DistributionColombia (Bolivar)

Type locality: "Vicinity of Sincelejo, Bolivar, Colombia".  
Reproductionoviparous. 
TypesHolotype: FMNH 75980. 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 1886 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentConsidered a subspecies of Phrynops nasutus by Wermuth and Mertens 1977. For a color illustration and distribution map see MCCORD & JOSEPH-OUNI 2002.

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

Habitat: freshwater (rivers, swamps)

Karyotype: 2n = 58: 22 macrochromosomes, 36 microchromosomes (Bull and Legler, 1980). It differs from that of Phrynops (= Mesoclemmys) nasuta in having the 8th chromosome pair biarmed. 
EtymologyNamed after Professor George Dahl (1905-1979), a Swedish biologist and ichthyologist who visited Colombia (1936-1939) and collected the holotype. 
References
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - 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
  • Bour, R. & Zaher, H. 2005. A NEW SPECIES OF MESOCLEMMYS, FROM THE OPEN FORMATIONS OF NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL (CHELONII, CHELIDAE). Pap. Avul. Zool., Sao Paulo 45 (24): 295-311 - get paper here
  • Ernst,C.H. and Barbour,R.W. 1989. Turtles of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. - London
  • Ettmar, Stephan 2019. Toad-headed turtles of the genus Mesoclemmys - Distribution, Natural History, Husbandry. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, 204 pp.
  • Forero-Medina, German; Gladys Cardenas-Arevalo, and Olga V. Castano-Mora 2012. Habitat Modeling of Dahl's Toad-headed Turtle (Mesoclemmys dahli) in Colombia. Herp. Cons. Biology 7 (3): - get paper here
  • Forrero-Medina, German, Natalia Gallego and Ruben Palacios. 2014. Working to conserve Colombia's most imperiled Turtle Species. Turtle Survival 2014: 58-61 - get paper here
  • McCord, W. P., Joseph-Ouni, M.i & W. W. Lamar 2001. A taxonomic reevaluation of Phrynops (Testudines: Chelidae) with the description of two new genera and a new species of Batrachemys. Revista de Biologia Tropical 49 (2): 715-764 - get paper here
  • McCord, W.P. & Joseph-Ouni, M. 2002. Chelonian illustrations #1: South American Toadhead Turtles. Reptilia (GB) (21): 34-38 - get paper here
  • Medina, Germán Forero; Gladys Cárdenas-Arevalo, and Olga Victoria Castaño-Mora 2011. Abundance, Home Range, and Movement Patterns of the Endemic Species Dahl's Toad-Headed Turtle (Mesoclemmys dahli) in Cesar, Colombia. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Dec 2011, Vol. 10, No. 2: 228-236. - get paper here
  • Stanford, C.B. et al. 2020. Turtles and Tortoises Are in Trouble. Current Biology 30: R721–R735 - get paper here
  • TTWG [TURTLE TAXONOMY WORKING GROUP: RHODIN, A.G.J., IVERSON, J.B., FRITZ, U., GALLEGO-GARCÍA, N., GEORGES, A., SHAFFER, H.B., AND VAN DuK, P.P.]. 2025. Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (10th 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.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs 10:1-575 - get paper here
  • TTWG; Dijk, Peter Paul van; John B. Iverson, H. Bradley Shaffer; Roger Bour & Anders G.J. Rhodin [turtle taxonomy working group] 2011. Turtles of the World, 2011 Update: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status. Chelonian Research Monographs No. 5: 78 pp.; doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v4.2011 - 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.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs 8:1–472. doi:10.3854/crm.8.checklist.atlas.v9.2021. - get paper here
  • Vargas-Ramírez, M., J. Michaels, et al. 2012. Weak genetic divergence between the two South American Toad-headed Turtles Mesoclemmys dahli and M. zuliae (Testudines:Pleurodira: Chelidae). Amphibia-Reptilia 33(3-4): 373-385 - get paper here
  • Zangerl, R., and F. Medem. 1958. A new species of chelid turtle, Phrynops (Batrachemys) dahli, from Colombia. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 119: 375-390 - get paper here
 
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