Mauremys japonica (Temminck and Schlegel 1835) – Japanese Pond Turtle

Abstract

summarY. -The Japanese pond turtle, Mauremys japonica (Family Geoemydidae), is endemic to Japan and is distributed in Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and adjacent small islands. The turtle is found in various freshwater habitats such as swamps, marshes, irrigated rice paddies, ponds, lakes, and rivers. Many of these habitats have been the objects of recent rapid land developments, or under the constant influences of human activities, obviously involving population declines of this species. The overexploitaion by pet dealers and the prevalence of artificially introduced species with similar ecological requirements could be reducing the numbers of this turtle as well. Thus, although the turtle seems still to be relatively abundant in most districts, preservation of its habitats, as well as regulations for the handling of this species and the control of invasive turtles (especially of the red-eared slider Trachemys scripta elegans) should be considered urgently for the conservation of this species. Accumulation of field data for various ecological aspects of the Japanese pond turtle is also strongly desired in order to formulate effective conservation actions.disTribuTion. -Japan. Restricted to Honshu, Kyoshu, and Shikoku. sYnonYmY. -Emys vulgaris japonica Temminck and Schlegel 1835;

Hybridization betweenMauremys japonicaandMauremys reevesiiInferred by Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA Analyses

“…Sample Collection and Genetic Analysis.-We used three morphological characters that were identified in previous studies (e.g., Nakamura and Uéno, 1963;Yasukawa et al, 2008;Lovich et al, 2011) to distinguish M. japonica and M. reevesii. Carapace color: M. japonica is a brilliant orange to dark brown, and M. reevesii is light to dark brown (black in melanistic adult males).…”

“…The Japanese Pond Turtle (Mauremys japonica) and Reeves' Pond Turtle (Mauremys reevesii) are common geoemydid turtles of the Japanese islands, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu (Yasukawa et al, 2008;Lovich et al, 2011). Mauremys japonica is endemic to Japan (Yasukawa et al, 2008), whereas the range of M. reevesii extends from southeastern China, through the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan to mainland Japan (Lovich et al, 1985(Lovich et al, , 2011Iverson, 1992).…”

“…Therefore, it was not clear whether the putative hybrids of Kosuge at al. (2003), Hamamura et al (2008), andKato et al (2010) were derived from hybridization events or represented interpopulation variation in morphology (see Lovich et al, 1985Lovich et al, , 2011Yasukawa et al, 2008).…”

“…Mauremys japonica is endemic to Japan (Yasukawa et al, 2008), whereas the range of M. reevesii extends from southeastern China, through the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan to mainland Japan (Lovich et al, 1985(Lovich et al, , 2011Iverson, 1992). Despite being considered as native to Japan (e.g., Nakamura and Uéno, 1963), suggested that the Japanese population of M. reevesii may have been introduced from neighboring countries, such as Korea and China (see also Hirayama et al, 2007;Hikida and Suzuki, 2010).…”

Mitochondrial phylogeography of the Japanese pond turtle, Mauremys japonica (Testudines, Geoemydidae)

“…The Japanese pond turtle, Mauremys japonica (Temminck and Schlegel, 1835), is an endemic species in the Japanese main islands and inhabits streams, rivers, and ponds in Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and adjacent islands (Sengoku 1979; Yasukawa et al. 2008).…”