Vijayachelys silvatica (HENDERSON, 1912)
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Vijayachelys silvatica
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| Higher Taxa | Geoemydidae (Geoemydinae), Testudinoidea, Testudines (turtles) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Cochin Forest Cane Turtle G: Gelbkopf-Erdschildkröte |
| Synonym | Geoemyda silvatica HENDERSON 1912 Geoemyda silvatica — SMITH 1931: 94 Heosemys silvatica — PRITCHARD 1979 Heosemys silvatica — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 158 Geoemyda silvatica — DAS 1997 Geoemyda silvatica — OBST 2003: 17 Vijayachelys silvatica — PRASCHAG et al. 2006 Geoemyda silvatica — MURTHY 2010: 23 Vijayachelys silvatica — TTWG 2021 Vijayachelys silvatica — LINDKEN et al. 2024 Vijayachelys silvatica — TTWG 2025 |
| Distribution | SW India (Cochin, Kerala) Type locality: "Near Kavalai in the Cochin State Forests, inhabiting dense forest, at an elevation of about 1500 feet above sea level," India. |
| Reproduction | oviparous. |
| Types | Holotype: ZSI 17117 |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus). For diagnostic characters of external morphology, see Moll et al. (1986), Ernst and Barbour (1989), and Ernst et al. (2000). The diagnosis below focuses on osteological characters. Small sized geoemydid: carapace in males up to 125mm long, 83mm wide, 43mm high; carapace in females up to 131mm long, 92mm wide, 46mm high (Moll et al. 1986). Carapace tricarinate, margin not or weakly serrated. Humeropectoral seam crosses ento- plastron near its posterior margin, or bordering poster- ior margin of entoplastron. Connection between carapace and plastron ligamentous; reduction of bony articulation stronger in females than in males. Upper (2nd) suprapygal distinctly smaller than lower (1st) suprapygal. Skull without temporal arch. Beak with a median hook, maxillae in contact frontally, only partly separated by praemaxillae (according to Moll et al. 1986), or praemaxillae not visible in frontal view (in specimens examined in present study). Orbits large; frontal contributes considerably to orbital rim. Prootic in dorsal view extended frontally. Jugal–maxillary contact separated from pterygoid–maxillary contact by a gap, thus jugal not contacting pterygoid. Processus pterygoideus externus feebly developed; contact between maxilla and pterygoid narrow. Triturating surface of upper jaw narrow, more than four times longer than wide. Foramen palatinum posterius approximately 1.5 times longer than wide; pterygoid laterally emarginated and medially constricted, fossa temporalis inferior large and voluminous, making room for musculus adductor mandibularis; processus trochlearis oticum small. Tail moderately long in male, abruptly narrowing after cloaca; tail very short in female. (Praschag et al. 2006) 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 1996 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Type species: Geoemyda silvatica HENDERSON 1912 is the type species of the genus Vijayachelys PRASCHAG, SCHMIDT, FRITZSCH, MÜLLER, GEMEL & FRITZ 2006. Distribution: see map in TTWG 2025. |
| Etymology | Named after the Latin words sylva = wood, and “sylvaticum” (= “of woods”). The genus was named after Jagannathan “Viji” Vijaya (1959-1987), the first female herpetologist in India who rediscovered the species in 1982, and Greek chelys (χέλυσ) = turtle. See Rouot 2024 for biographical details. |
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