Big-headed Amazon River turtle

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Peltocephalus dumerilianus
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Pleurodira
Family: Podocnemididae
Genus: Peltocephalus
A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1835 [4]
Species:
P. dumerilianus
Binomial name
Peltocephalus dumerilianus
(Schweigger, 1812) [3]
Synonyms[1][5]
  • Emys dumeriliana
    Schweigger, 1812
  • Emys macrocephala
    Spix, 1824
  • Emys tracaxa
    Spix, 1824
  • Chelys (Hydraspis) lata
    Gray in Griffith, 1831
  • Emys icterocephala
    Gray in Griffith, 1831
  • Chelys (Hydraspis)
    dumerilliana
    [sic]
    — Gray, 1831
  • Podocnemis dumeriliana
    A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1835
  • Peltocephalus tracaxa
    — A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1835
  • Podocnemis tracaxa
    Boulenger, 1889
  • Peltocephalus dumeriliana
    Obst, 1985
  • Peltocephalus dumerilianus
    Gorzula & Señaris, 1999

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[edit]

The specific name, dumerilianus, is in honor of French herpetologist André Marie Constant Duméril.[7]

Big-headed Amazon River turtle swimming

Description[edit]

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[edit]

P. dumerilianus is found in Brazil (Amazonas, Pará), Colombia, French Guiana, Venezuela, Ecuador, and possibly in Peru.[5]

Habitat[edit]

The preferred natural habitats of P. dumerilianus are rivers and freshwater swamps, preferring igapó and other blackwater river systems.[5][8]

Diet[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ "Peltocephalus dumerilianus ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  4. ^ a b "Peltocephalus ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Peltocephalus dumerilianus ". The Reptile Database.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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).
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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[edit]

  • 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).