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Rhinoclemmys melanosterna (GRAY, 1861)

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Higher TaxaGeoemydidae (Rhinoclemmydinae), Testudinoidea, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Colombian Wood Turtle 
SynonymGeoclemmys melanosterna GRAY 1861: 205
Geoclemmys melanosterna GRAY 1861: 336
Rhinoclemys [sic] melanosterna — GRAY 1863: 183
Rhinoclemmys melanosterna — GRAY 1873: 144
Nicoria punctularia var. melanosternum — BOULENGER 1889
Geoemyda punctularia melanosternum — SIEBENROCK 1909
Rhinoclemmys melanosterna — PRITCHARD 1979
Rhinoclemmys punctularia melanosterna — ERNST 1981
Rhinoclemmys melanosterna — KING & BURKE 1989
Rhinoclemmys melanosterna — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 183
Rhinoclemmys melanosterna — KÖHLER 2000: 22
Rhinoclemmys melanosterna — TTWG 2014
Rhinoclemmys melanosterna — TTWG 2021
Rhinoclemmys melanosterna — TTWG 2025 
DistributionCaribbean drainages of SE Panama and N Colombia, and Pacific drainages of W Colombia (incl. Valle del Cauca) and NW Ecuador

Type locality: "The Gulf of Darién: Cherunha"; Boulenger 1889:124, listed the types as being from "River Buonaventura (sic)" and "Chirambira, Gulf of Darien"; restricted to "Chirambira, near Buenaventura" Colombia by Mertens and Wermuth 1955:352; corrected to Boca Chirambira, delta of the Rio San Juan, Choco, Colombia by Medem 1958:21 (cited after KING & BURKE 1989).  
Reproductionoviparous. 
TypesSyntypes: BMNH 1947.3.4.8, and 1947.3.5.51 
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 1592 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentRhinoclemmys melanosterna and Rhinoclemmys punctularia differ in their karoytype (CARR & BICKHAM 1986). Yet, hybrids between R. punctularia and R. melanosterna have been described by FRITZ (1995).

Distribution: see map in TTWG 2025. 
EtymologyNamed after Greek melanos (μελανός), black + Greek sternon (στέρνον), breast, chest. [“...It is easily known from the other described species by the black colour of the upper and lower surface...”]. (from Esteban Lavilla, pers. comm., May 2024) 
References
  • Arteaga, A.; Bustamante, L.; Vieira, J. 2024. Reptiles of Ecuador. Khamai Foundation & Tropical Herping, 1073 pp. - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1889. Catalogue of the chelonians, rhynchocephalians, and crocodiles in the British Museum (Natural History). British Museum, London, 311 pp. - get paper here
  • Carr, J.L., and J.W.Bickham 1986. Phylogenetic implications of karyotypic variation in the Batagurinae (Testudines: Emydidae). Genetica 70: 89-106. - get paper here
  • Castro-Herrera, F. & Vargas-Salinas, F. 2008. Anfibios y reptiles en el departamento del Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Biota Colombiana 9 (2): 251 - 277 - get paper here
  • Cisneros-Heredia, D.F. 2006. Turtles of the Tiputini Biodiversity Station with remarks on the diversity and distribution of the Testudines from Ecuador. Biota Neotropica 6 (1): 1-16 - get paper here
  • Ernst, C. H. 1981. Rhinoclemmys punctularia. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles ( 276: 1-2. - get paper here
  • Ernst,C.H. and Barbour,R.W. 1989. Turtles of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. - London
  • Gray, J. E. 1863. Notes on American Emydidae, and Professor Agassiz’s observations on my Catalogue of them. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) 12: 176-183 - get paper here
  • Gray, J.E. 1861. On a new species of water-tortoise (Geoclemmys melanosterna) from Darien. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1861: 204-205. - get paper here
  • Gray, J.E. 1861. On a new species of water-tortoise (Geoclemmys melanosterna) from Darien. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) 8: 336-337 - get paper here
  • Gray,J.E. 1873. Notes on tortoises. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (4) 11: 143-149 - get paper here
  • Iverson, John B. 2014. Rhinoclemmys melanosterna (Colombian wood turtle) longevity. Herpetological Review 45 (1): 60 - get paper here
  • Köhler, G. 2000. Reptilien und Amphibien Mittelamerikas, Bd 1: Krokodile, Schildkröten, Echsen. Herpeton Verlag, Offenbach, 158 pp.
  • McLaughlin, Connor J. and C. Tristan Stayton 2016. Convergent Evolution Provides Evidence of Similar Radiations in Shell Shape in the Turtle Families Emydidae and Geoemydidae. Herpetologica 72 (2): 120-129. - get paper here
  • Medem, F. 1958. Informe sobre reptiles Colombianos. (II). El conocimiento actual sobre la distribución geográfica de los Testudinata en Colombia. Boletin del Museo de Ciencias Naturales, Caracas 2-3 (1-4): 13-45.
  • Mertens, R., and H. Wermuth 1955. Die rezenten Schildkröten, Krokodile und Brückenechsen. Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Allgemeine Systematik, Ökologie und Geographie der Tiere, Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena. 83(5): 323-440.
  • Methner, K., & Wicker, R. 1982. Zum Vorkommen von Rhinoclemmys punctularia in Kolumbien (Reptilia: Testudines: Emydidae). Salamandra 18 (3-4): 300-304 - 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
  • Pinto-Erazo, M.A., Calderón-Espinosa, M.L., Medina-Rangel, G.F. & Méndez-Galeano, M.A. 2020. Herpetofauna from two municipalities of southwestern Colombia. Biota Colombiana 21(1): 41-57. DOI: 10.21068/c2020.v21n01a04 - get paper here
  • Pritchard, P.C.H. 1979. Encyclopedia of Turtles. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune, New Jersey: 895 p.
  • Torres-Carvajal O, Pazmiño-Otamendi G, Salazar-Valenzuela D. 2019. Reptiles of Ecuador: a resource-rich portal, with a dynamic checklist and photographic guides. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13 (1): [General Section]: 209–229 (e178) - 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
  • Valencia-Zuleta A, Jaramillo-Martínez AF, Echeverry-Bocanegra A, Viáfara-Vega R, Hernández-Córdoba O, Cardona-Botero VE, Gutiérrez-Zúñiga J, Castro-Herrera F. 2014. Conservation status of the herpetofauna, protected areas, and current problems in Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 8 (2): 1–18 (e87) - get paper here
  • VARGAS-RAMÍREZ, MARIO, JOHN L. CARR, UWE FRITZ 2013. Complex phylogeography in Rhinoclemmys melanosterna: conflicting mitochondrial and nuclear evidence suggests past hybridization (Testudines: Geoemydidae). Zootaxa 3670: 238–254 - get paper here
 
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