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Podocnemis lewyana DUMÉRIL, 1852

IUCN Red List - Podocnemis lewyana - Critically Endangered, CR
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Higher TaxaPodocnemididae, Pelomedusoidea, Pleurodira, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Rio Magdalena River Turtle
S: Tortuga del río Magdalena 
SynonymPodocnemis lewyana DUMÉRIL 1852: 242 (partim)
Podocnemis lewyana — STEINDACHNER 1902: 96
Podocnemis lewyana — FRAIR et al. 1978
Podocnemis lewyana — ALDERTON 1988
Podocnemis lewyana — BOUR 2006
Podocnemis lewyana — TTWG 2014
Podocnemis lewyana — TTWG 2021
Podocnemis lewyana — TTWG 2025 
DistributionColombia (Rio Magdalena and Rio Sinu drainages)

Type locality: "Santa Fé de Bogotá, Colombia."  
Reproductionoviparous. Exhibits temperature‐dependent sex determination (TSD) fide Cornejo-Páramo et al. 2020 (and references therein). 
TypesLectotype: MNHN-RA 8995; paralectotype: MNHN-RA 8360. MNHN-RA 8985 (erroneously renumbered as MNHN-RA 9401), apparently designated lectotype on MNHN list of specimens (see Iverson 1986: 255). Lectotype designation by Bour 2006. 
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 1912 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentDistribution: Not in Venezuela (fide RIVAS et al. 2012). The only report from Venezuela (Pauler & Trebbau 1995) may have been based on a specimen introduced from Colombia by traders [RIVAS et al. 2012].

Habitat: freshwater (Rivers and tributaries) 
EtymologyNamed in honor of M. Lewy, collector of “...le plus grand individu ...”. 
References
  • Alderton, D. 1988. Turtles and tortoises of the world. Facts on File, New York.
  • Bock, Brian C.; Paula A. Espinal-Garcia, Juan David Silva-Macias, Vivian P. Páez 2021. Risk of Nest Flooding in a Population of the Magdalena River Turtle (Podocnemis lewyana) Inhabiting the Climatic Equator in Northern Colombia. South American Journal of Herpetology 20 (1), 92-99 - 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, Roger 2006. Types of Podocnemidae in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. Emys 13 (1): 27-40
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Frair, W.; Mittermeier, R.A.; Rhodin, A.G.J. 1978. Blood biochemistry and relations among Podocnemis turtles (Pleurodira, Pelomedusidae). Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 61B: 139-143 - get paper here
  • Gaffney, Eugene S.; Peter A. Meylan, Roger C. Wood, Elwyn Simons, and Diogenes De Almeida Campos 2011. Evolution of the Side-Necked Turtles: The Family Podocnemididae. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History (350): 1-237 - get paper here
  • Gallego-García, Natalia and Vivian P. Páez 2016. Geographic Variation in Sex Determination Patterns in the River Turtle Podocnemis lewyana: Implications for Global Warming. Journal of Herpetology 50 (2): 256-262 - get paper here
  • Gómez-Saldarriaga, Catalina; Nicole Valenzuela, and Claudia P. Ceballos 2016. Effects of Incubation Temperature on Sex Determination in the Endangered Magdalena River Turtle, Podocnemis lewyana. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 15 (1): 43-53. - get paper here
  • Iverson J B 1995. Podocnemis lewyana Dumeril, Magdalena River turtle. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 605 : 1-3 - get paper here
  • Iverson, J.B. 1986. A Checklist with Distribution Maps of the Turtles of the World. Paust Printing, Richmond, Indiana. viii + 282 pp.
  • METHNER, K. 1989. Die Schildkröten des unteren Rio Magdalena (Kolumbien). Sauria 11 (4): 9-11 - get paper here
  • Páez, V.P. et al. 2002. Guía de campo de algunas especies de anfibios y reptiles de Antioquia. Universidad de Antioquia, - get paper here
  • Páez, V.P. et al. 2013. Podocnemis lewyana. Catalogo de Anfibios y Reptiles de Colombia 1(1): 1-5 - get paper here
  • Páez, V.P., J.C. Correa-H. & A.M. Cano 2009. A comparison of maternal and temperature effects on sex, size and growth of hatchlings of the Magdalena River turtle (Podocnemis lewyana) incubated under field and laboratory conditions Copeia 2009 (4): 698-704. - get paper here
  • Páez, Vivian P., Brian C. Bock, Paula A. Espinal-García, Beatriz H. Rendón-Valencia, Diego Alzate-Estrada, Viviana M. Cartagena-Otálvaro and Selina S. Heppell. 2015. Life History and Demographic Characteristics of the Magdalena River Turtle (Podocnemis lewyana): Implications for Management. Copeia 103 (4): 1058-1074 - get paper here
  • Páez, Vivian P.; Laura Echeverri-G, Brian C. Bock, Rachel M. Bowden, and Lina M. Hinestroza 2015. Preovulatory Maternal Effects on Intra- and Interpopulation Variation in Sex Ratios and Phenotypic Characteristics of Magdalena River Turtles (Podocnemis lewyana). Herpetologica 71 (3): 196-202. - get paper here
  • Pauler, Ingo; Tredau, Pedro 1995. Erstnachweis von Podocnemis lewyana Duméril, 1852 (Testudines) in Venezuela. Salamandra 31 (3): 181-186 - get paper here
  • RESTREPO, ADRIANA; VIVIAN P. PÁEZ; CATALINA LÓPEZ, AND BRIAN C. BOCK 2008. Distribution and Status of Podocnemis lewyana in the Magdalena River Drainage of Colombia. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 7(1): 45–51 - get paper here
  • 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
  • Steindachner, Franz 1902. Herpetologische und ichthyologische Ergebnisse einer Reise nach Südamerika mit einer Einleitung von Therese Prinzessin von Bayern. Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien (Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Klasse) 72: 89–148 - get paper here
  • TTWG [Peter Paul van Dijk, John B. Iverson, Anders G.J. Rhodin, H. Bradley Shaffer, and Roger Bour] 2014. Turtles of the World, 7th Edition: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution with Maps, and Conservation Status. 000.v7. Chelonian Research Monographs (ISSN 1088-7105) No. 5, doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v7.2014 - 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; 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-Ramirez, M.; Chiari, Y.; Castaño-Mora, O.V. & Menken, S.B.J. 2007. Low genetic variability in the endangered Colombian endemic freshwater turtle Podocnemis lewyana (Testudines, Podocnemididae). Contributions to Zoology 76 (1): 1-7 - get paper here
  • Vergara-Ríos, Danny; Andrés Camilo Montes-Correa, Juan David Jimenez-Bolaño, Liliana Patricia Saboyá-Acosta, Juan Manuel Renjifo 2015. Record of the largest size for a male of Magdalena River Turtle, Podocnemis lewyana Duméril 1852 (Testudines: Podocnemididae). Herpetology Notes 8: 335-337 - get paper here
  • Zapata, Lina M., Jaime A. Palacio and Brian C. Bock. 2014. Podocnemis lewyana (Magdalena river turtle) mercury levels. Herpetological Review 45 (2): 319 - get paper here
 
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