Mesoclemmys zuliae (PRITCHARD & TREBBAU, 1984)

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Higher Taxa	Chelidae, Chelinae, Pleurodira, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies
Common Names	E: Zulia Toadhead Turtle G: Krötenkopfschildkröte
Synonym	Phrynops zuliae PRITCHARD & TREBBAU 1984 Phrynops (Batrachemys) zuliae — ALDERTON 1988 Phrynops zuliae — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 56 Batrachemys zuliae — MCCORD et al. 2001 Batrachemys zuliae — MCCORD & JOSEPH-OUNI 2002 Mesoclemmys zuliae — BOUR & ZAHER 2005 Batrachemys (Phrynops) zuliae — BONIN et al 2006 Mesoclemmys zuliae — VAN DIJK et al. 2011 Batrachemys zuliae — RIVAS et al. 2012 Phrynops (Batrachemys zuliae — PHILIPPEN 2012 Mesoclemmys zuliae — TTWG 2021 Mesoclemmys zuliae — TTWG 2025
Distribution	Venezuela (SW Maracaibo basin) Type locality: "Cano Madre Vieja near El Guayabo, Distrito Colon, Edo. Zulia, Venezuela (8°53'N, 72°30'W)"
Reproduction	oviparous.
Types	Holotype: UF 53439
Diagnosis	Unfortunately 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 1617 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details.
Comment	For a color illustration and distribution map see MCCORD & JOSEPH-OUNI 2002. Habitat: freshwater (rivers, swamps)
Etymology	Named after the type locality.
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. McCord, W.P. & Joseph-Ouni, M. 2002. Chelonian illustrations #1: South American Toadhead Turtles. Reptilia (GB) (21): 34-38 - get paper here Philippen, H. - D. 2012. Phrynops. Die Gattung der Krötenkopfschildkröten. Reptilia (Münster) 17 (98): 42-48 - get paper here Pritchard, P.C.H. 1987. Phrynops zuliae. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles ( 404:1-2 - get paper here Pritchard, P.C.H. & Trebbau, P. 1984. Phrynops (Batrachemys) zuliae new species. In: The Turtles of Venezuela, pp. 135-142 Pritchard, P.C.H., and P. Trebbau. 1984. The Turtles of Venezuela. SSAR Contributions to Herpetology 2: viii + 402 pp. RIVAS, GILSON A.; CÉSAR R. MOLINA, GABRIEL N. UGUETO, TITO R. BARROS, CÉSAR L. BAR- RIO-AMORÓS & PHILIPPE J. R. KOK 2012. Reptiles of Venezuela: an updated and commented checklist. Zootaxa 3211: 1–64 - get paper here Rojas-Runjaic, F.J.M. 2009. Mesoclemmys zuliae – Die geheimnisvolle Krötenkopfschildkröte aus dem Süden des Maracaibo-Sees. Reptilia (Münster) 14 (80): 34-39 - 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 Valverde, J. 2009. Südamerikanische Schildkröten. Reptilia (Münster) 14 (80): 16-27 - 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
External links	IUCN Red List National Center for Biotechnology Information Google images

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