The European pond turtle (''Emys orbicularis''), also called
commonly the European pond terrapin and the European pond tortoise, 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), ...
of long-living freshwater
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 ...
Emydidae
Emydidae (Latin (freshwater tortoise) + Ancient Greek (, "appearance, resemblance")) is a family of testudines (turtles) that includes close to 50 species in 10 genera. Members of this family are commonly called terrapins, pond turtles, or mar ...
.
The species is
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 the
Western Palearctic
The Western Palaearctic or Western Palearctic is part of the Palaearctic realm, one of the eight biogeographic realms dividing the Earth's surface. Because of its size, the Palaearctic is often divided for convenience into two, with Europe, North ...
.
Subspecies
The following 14
subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
are recognized as being valid.
*''
Emys orbicularis capolongoi'' – Sardinian pond turtle
*''
Emys orbicularis colchica'' – Colchis pond turtle
*''
Emys orbicularis eiselti'' – Eiselt's pond turtle
*''
Emys orbicularis fritzjuergenobstii'' – Obst's pond turtle
*''
Emys orbicularis galloitalica
''Emys'' is a small genus within the family Emydidae. The genus (''sensu lato''), consisting primarily of freshwater pond turtles, is endemic to Europe. It is the only genus in the Emydidae outside of North America.
Species
The following two spe ...
'' – Italian pond turtle
*''
Emys orbicularis hellenica'' – Western Turkey pond turtle
*''
Emys orbicularis hispanica'' – Spanish pond turtle
*''
Emys orbicularis iberica'' – Kura Valley pond turtle
*''
Emys orbicularis ingauna
''Emys'' is a small genus within the Family (biology), family Emydidae. The genus (''sensu lato''), consisting primarily of freshwater pond turtles, is endemic to Europe. It is the only genus in the Emydidae outside of North America.
Species
The ...
'' - Ligurian pond turle
*''
Emys orbicularis lanzai'' – Corsican pond turtle
*''
Emys orbicularis luteofusca'' – Central Turkey pond turtle
*''
Emys orbicularis occidentalis'' – North African pond turtle
*''
Emys orbicularis orbicularis'' – common European pond turtle
*''
Emys orbicularis persica'' – Eastern pond turtle
A
trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
other than ''Emys''.
Etymology
The
subspecific name
In biology, trinomial nomenclature is the system of names for taxa below the rank of species. These names have three parts. The usage is different in zoology and botany.
In zoology
In zoological nomenclature, a trinomen (), trinominal name, or ...
''eiselti'' is in honor of Viennese herpetologist
Josef Eiselt (1912–2001).
The subspecific name ''fritzjuergenobsti'' is in honor of German herpetologist