Freshwater Turtle

Jun 24, 2009

Asian Wildlife Trade Species Page

Illegal trade in turtles and tortoises, most of which have been captured in the wild, has become massive. In order to meet the increased demand from Asian countries, harvesting methods of wild turtles and tortoises had to be successful enough to achieve commercial feasibility.

FRESHWATER TURTLES
This analysis includes only the species classified as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) and Vulnerable (VU) by IUCN (The World Conservation Union)

Scientific Classification
ORDER = Testudines
FAMILY = Geoemydidae, Trionychidae, Testudinidae, Chelidae, Platysternidae, Carettochelyidae
GENUS AND SPECIES = 65 species
    Geoemydidae - 20 genera, 40 species
    Trionychidae - Eight genera, 13 species
    Chelidae - Two genera, three species
    Testudinidae - Four genera, seven species
    Platysternidae - One genera, one species
    Carettochelidae - One genera, one species
COMMON NAME (ENGLISH) =
    Geoemydidae - Box turtles, Pond turtles, Leaf and Roofed turtles
    Trionychidae - Softshell turtles
    Chelidae - Snake necked turtle
    Testudinidae - Elongated tortoise, Pineapple tortoise, Red nosed tortoise, Yellow tortoise, Yellow headed tortoise
    Platysternidae - Big headed turtle (Platysternon megacephalum)
    Carettochelidae - Fly river turtle, New Guinea plateless turtle, Pig nosed turtle, pitted shell turtle
IUCN RED LIST = Sixty five species: CR (17), EN (27) and VU (21)
    Geoemydidae - 40 species under CR (14), EN (17) and VU (9) cathegories. The genus Cuora is the most common with six species included
    Trionychidae - 13 species under CR (3), EN (5) and VU (6) cathegories. The genus Aspideretes is the most common with three species included
    Chelidae - Three species under CR (1) and VU (2). The genus Chelodina poses one species in each category
    Testudinidae - Seven species under CR (1), EN (3) and VU (3) cathegories
    Platysternidae - One species under EN: Platysternon megacephalum
    Carettochelidae - One species under VU: Carettochelys insculpta
CITES LISTING =
    Appendix I - Family Carettochelyidae, Geoclemys hamiltonii, Morenia ocellata, Aspideretes gangeticus, Aspideretes hurum
    Appendix II - Family Testudinidae, Platysternon megacephalum, Callagur borneoensis, Cuora spp., Heosemys depressa, Heosemys grandis, Heosemys leytensis, Heosemys spinosa, Hieremys annandalii, Kachuga spp (except K. tecta), Leucocephalon yuwonoi,Malayemys subtrijuga, Mauremys mutica, Notochelys platynota, Orlitia borneensis, Siebenrockiella crassicollis, Carettochelys insculpta, Amyda cartilaginea, Chitra spp., Pelochelys spp., Chelodina mccordi
    Appendix III - Chinemys megalocephala (China), Ch. Nigricans (China), Ch. Reevesii (China), Geoemyda spengleri (China), Ocadia sinensis (China), Sacalia bealei (China), S. quadriocellata(China), Palea steindachneri (China), Rafetus swinhoei (China)

Other Natural History Information
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Testudinidae.html
http://www.asianturtlenetwork.org/field_guide/Cuora_trifasciata.htm
http://www.asianturtlenetwork.org/field_guide/amyda_cartilaginea.htm
http://www.asianturtlenetwork.org/field_guide/Platysternon_megacephalum.htm
http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/reptiles/Testudo_horsfieldii/more_info.html
http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/reptiles/Pelochelys_bibroni/more_info.html
http://www.asianturtlenetwork.org/index.htm
Photos/Videos
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/pictures/Testudinidae.html
http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/reptiles/Cuora_amboinensis/more_still_images.html
http://www.arkive.org/search.html?q=softshell+turtle&output=xml_no_dtd&client=images_only&site=default_collection&ie=utf8&oe=utf8&num=20&filter=0&getfields=*

Recent news from common media
http://www.asianturtlenetwork.org/library/news.htm

IUCN Specialist Group for this species or group
http://www.turtlesurvival.org/

REFERENCES
IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. . Downloaded on 15 September 2007.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.Appendices I,II and III. . Downloaded on 07 August 2007.

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