The Big-headed Amazon River turtle (Peltocephalus dumerilianus),[5] also known as the big-headed sideneck, is a species of turtle in the family Podocnemididae. An additional, much larger species is known, the extinct Peltocephalus maturin, is also part of the genus, Peltocephalus.[4][6]
Etymology
The specific name, dumerilianus, is in honor of French herpetologist André Marie Constant Duméril.[7]
Description
P. dumerilianus are mid-sized turtles, with the largest specimen recorded possessing a 50 cm (1.6 ft) long carapace and weighing 15 kg (33 lb). Sexual dimorphism is present like in most turtles, with males being larger with wider heads.
Geographic range
P. dumerilianus is found in Brazil (Amazonas, Pará), Colombia, French Guiana, Venezuela, Ecuador, and possibly in Peru.[5]
Habitat
The preferred natural habitats of P. dumerilianus are rivers and freshwater swamps, preferring igapó and other blackwater river systems.[5][8]
Diet
Like all extant podocnemidids, P. dumerilianus is a plant-based omnivore, though includes the largest proportion of animal matter in its diet among its family. [9] It is an opportunistic predator, usually crawling around the bottom of water bodies searching for mollusks, fish, insects, and even scavenged carrion from other reptiles and mammals.[10]
Reproduction
Like all other turtles, P. dumerilianus is oviparous.[5] Unlike other members of its group which lay their eggs on sandy beaches, the Big-headed Amazon River turtle prefers concealed nests.
References
- ^ a b Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (1996). "Peltocephalus dumerilianus ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T16511A5972664. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T16511A5972664.en. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ "Peltocephalus dumerilianus ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- ^ a b "Peltocephalus ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- ^ a b c d e "Peltocephalus dumerilianus ". The Reptile Database.
- ^ Ferreira, G. S.; Nasciemento, E. R.; Cadena, E. A.; Cozzuol, M. A.; Farina, B. M.; Pacheco, M. L. A. F.; Rizzutto, M. A.; Langer, M. C. (2024). "The latest freshwater giants: a new Peltocephalus (Pleurodira: Podocnemididae) turtle from the Late Pleistocene of the Brazilian Amazon". Biology Letters. 20 (3). 20240010. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2024.0010. PMC 10932709. PMID 38471564.
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Peltocephalus dumeriliana, p. 77).
- ^ Gentil, E.; Azevedo de Medeiros, L.; Vogt, R. C.; Barnett, A. A. (2021). "Biology of the Big-headed Amazon River Turtle, Peltocephalus dumerilianus (Schweigger, 1812) (Testudines, Pleurodira): the basal extant Podocnemididae species". Herpetozoa. 34: 207–222. doi:10.3897/herpetozoa.34.e67807.
- ^ Eisemberg, C. C.; Reynolds, S. J.; Christian, K. A.; Vogt, R. C. (2017). "Diet of Amazon river turtles (Podocnemididae): a review of the effects of body size, phylogeny, season and habitat". Zoology. 120: 92–100. doi:10.1016/j.zool.2016.07.003. PMID 27552858.
- ^ Gentil, E.; Azevedo de Medeiros, L.; Vogt, R. C.; Barnett, A. A. (2021). "Biology of the Big-headed Amazon River Turtle, Peltocephalus dumerilianus (Schweigger, 1812) (Testudines, Pleurodira): the basal extant Podocnemididae species". Herpetozoa. 34: 207–222. doi:10.3897/herpetozoa.34.e67807.
Further reading
- Boulenger GA (1889). Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhynchocephalians, and Crocodiles in the British Museum (Natural History). New Edition. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). x + 311 pp. + Plates I-III. (Podocnemis tracaxa, p. 206).
- Schweigger [AF] (1812). "Prodromus Monographia Cheloniorum ". Königsberger Archiv für Naturwissenschaft und Mathematik 1: 271-368, 406–458. (Emys dumeriliana, new species, p. 300). (in Latin).