The Vietnamese pond turtle or Annam leaf turtle (''Mauremys annamensis'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Geoemydidae The Geoemydidae (formerly known as Bataguridae) are one of the largest and most diverse families in the order Testudines (turtles), with about 70 species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two in ...

. It can be distinguished from its relatives by its color pattern: the head is dark with three or four yellow stripes down the side. The

plastron The turtle shell is a shield for the ventral and dorsal parts of turtles (the Order (biology), order Testudines), completely enclosing all the turtle's vital organs and in some cases even the head. It is constructed of modified bony elements such ...

(belly shield) is firmly attached, yellow or orange, with a black blotch on each

scute A scute () or scutum (Latin: ''scutum''; plural: ''scuta'' "Scutum (shield), shield") is a bony external plate or scale overlaid with horn, as on the shell of a turtle, the skin of crocodilians, and the feet of Bird anatomy#Scales, birds. The ter ...

. Asian Turtle Network
''Mauremys annamensis''
Version of August, 2006. Retrieved 9 December 2006.

Endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to a small area in central

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, it was reportedly abundant in the 1930s, but all field surveys after 1941 had failed to locate any individuals in the wild.Asian Turtle Network
''Mauremys annamensis'' recorded in natural habitat after 65 years
Version of 2006-DEC-07. Retrieved 3 September 2007. As it was occasionally seen traded as food, it was not yet

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

in the wild however.

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

Inclusion of Annam Pond Turtle ''Annamemys'' (''Mauremys'') ''annamensis'' in Appendix II
Retrieved 9 December 2006. In 2006, a wild population of ''M. annamensis'' was found near

Hội An Hội An () is a city of approximately 120,000 people in Vietnam's Quảng Nam Province, registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. Along with the Cù Lao Chàm archipelago, it is part of the Cù Lao Chàm-Hội An Biosphere Reserve ...

in Quảng Nam Province. Despite its rarity, specimens have been observed for sale in China and Hong Kong, and have been illicitly imported into the USA. A small number are being captive-bred on

Hainan Island Hainan is an island province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally means "South of the Sea ...

in southern China, as well as at the Cuc Phuong Turtle Conservation Center located in

Cúc Phương National Park Cúc Phương National Park () is located in Ninh Bình Province, in Vietnam's Red River Delta. Cuc Phuong was Vietnam's first Protected areas of Vietnam, national park and is the country's largest nature reserve. The park is one of the most impor ...

in northern Vietnam.Asian Turtle Network
Cuc Phuong Turtle Conservation Center
and by IUCN-affiliated breeders. Retrieved 9 December 2006. The species is nonetheless close to extinction in the wild, as illegal hunting seems to continue. Reintroduction programmes of captive bred specimens are currently in progress. Hybridization with other Geoemydidae genera is known to occur. The species has produced hybrids with the Malayan box turtle in captivity. In addition, the supposed new species '' Ocadia glyphistoma'' has turned out to be the offspring of a male

Chinese stripe-necked turtle The Chinese stripe-necked turtle (''Mauremys sinensis'') or golden thread turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. They are widely distributed in the subtropical regions of Taiwan. Like many other Geoemydidae, this species hy ...

and a female of the present species; it might have been taken from the wild or also have been captive-bred. Captive Vietnamese pond turtles - which are occasionally available to experienced hobbyists, under the auspices of the IUCN-coordinated captive-breeding program - must therefore never be housed with related species.Parham et al. (2001), Buskirk et al. (2005). Hybridization in the wild would not seem to constitute a major threat, as the two parent species of ''"Ocadia" × glyphistoma'' are not closely related, and the hybrids are thus likely to be sterile. However, with a species as rare as the Vietnamese pond turtle, more research into this issue is certainly necessary.

References

* (2005): On the hybridisation between two distantly related Asian turtles (Testudines: ''Sacalia'' × ''Mauremys''). ''

Salamandra ''Salamandra'' is a genus of six species of salamanders localized in central and southern Europe, Northern Africa, and western Asia. List of species References External links Salamandraat Fauna Europaea * Salamandraat Animal Diversity We ...

'' 41: 21–26
PDF fulltext
* (2001): New Chinese turtles: endangered or invalid? A reassessment of two species using mitochondrial DNA, allozyme electrophoresis and known-locality specimens. ''Animal Conservation'' 4 (4): 357–367
HTML abstract
Erratum: ''Animal Conservation'' 5 (1): 8
HTML abstract

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q564443 Mauremys Endemic fauna of Vietnam Reptiles of Vietnam Critically endangered fauna of Asia Turtles of Asia Reptiles described in 1903