Mexican Spotted Terrapin

Maximum longevity: 11.8 years (captivity)

Continent: Middle-America
Distribution: Restricted to the the west coast of Mexico (lowlands of Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan, Oaxaca, Chiapas, W Guerrero)
Type locality: "Tuchitan, Tehuantepec, Mexico" (=Juchitan, Oaxaca, Mexico).

Chelopus rubidus Cope, 1870

[= Rhinoclemmys rubida (Cope, 1870) fide, Smith and Taylor, 1966:12, Freytey et al., 1977:63–66, Smith, 1978:93, Ernst, 1981:277.1]

Cope, 1870 [1869], Proc. Am. Philos. Soc. 11:148.

Syntypes: USNM 45612 (alcoholic adult female, limbs, girdles, skin of head, and skull, CL “0m. .16” [160mm]), USNM 45613 (alcoholic adult female, limbs, girdles, head), USNM 45614 (alcoholic juvenile, poorly preserved, missing several scutes, CL 87 mm), all collected by Francois Sumichrast at the type locality, date unknown, cataloged 4 May 1911.

Type Locality: “Tuchitan Tehuantepec, Mexico” [Juchitan Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico].

Other Type Material: Syntypes: ANSP 285, 337–341 (see “Remarks”).

Etymology: The Latin rubidus, reddish, refers to the light red markings on the skin.

Remarks: Cope (1870 [1869]:149) referenced four specimens by field number (264–267) in the original description, but only three syntypes are recorded at the USNM (Cochran 1961:228). Syntypes USNM 45612, 45613, and 45614 are field numbers 265, 266, and 267, respectively. The status of the fourth specimen (field number 264) is unknown.

Malnate (1971:354) also listed six syntypes of Chelopus rubidus at the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia (ANSP 285, 337–341), collected by Sumichrast at the type locality. The type status of these specimens is unknown. The missing syntype (field number 264) may be included in the ANSP series. As previously discussed in “Remarks” for Dermatemys abnormis, because of Cope’s association with both the Smithsonian Institution and the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences and the confusion over specimen ownership that occurred after his death, some Smithsonian specimens were cataloged at the ANSP and some ANSP specimens inadvertently cataloged at the Smithsonian.

Cuora amboinensis lineata McCord and Philippen, 1998

[= Cuora amboinensis lineata McCord and Philippen, 1998]

McCord and Philippen, 1998, Reptile Hobbyist, Mar 1998:54, 8 unnumbered figs.

Holotype: USNM 122189 (alcoholic adult male, CL “166.3 mm”), collected by Capt. Kenneth E. Stager in 1945.

Type Locality: “Myitkyina, Kachin Province, Myanmar (Burma).”

Other Type Material: Paratypes: ZMA 19223–24 (see “Remarks”).

Etymology: The Latin lineata, meaning lined, refers to the light vertebral and pleural stripes on the carapace.

Remarks: The date of collection was penciled into the catalog subsequent to cataloging on 18 Jan 1946. Mc-Cord and Philippen (1998:54) listed ZMA 19223, an adult male, and ZMA 19224, a juvenile female, as paratypes, but failed to deposit these specimens in the Universiteit van Amsterdam Zoölogisch Museum (in Litt., Miguel Vences to C. H. Ernst, 2003).

Cuora chriskarannarum Ernst and McCord, 1987

[= Cuora pani Song, 1984; fide, de Bruin, 1988:6]

Ernst and McCord, 1987, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 100(3):624, fig. 1.

Holotype: USNM 266162 (alcoholic adult male, CL 112 mm), purchased from locals by “Oscar Shiu, Sep 1986.”

Type Locality: “Ta Lau Shan, Yunnan Province, China (23°30′N, 102°25′E).”

Paratype: USNM 266163 (alcoholic adult female, CL 145 mm), “Chinsha (= Chin Ping), Yunnan Province, China (22°46′N, 103°15′E),” purchased from locals by “Oscar Shiu, Sep 1986.”

Etymology: The name chriskarannarum honors Dr. William P. McCord’s daughters Christine and Karen and his wife Anne.

Remarks: The type locality has been questioned (McCord and Iverson, 1991:411; Parham and Li, 1999:111).

Cuora evelynae Ernst and Lovich, 1990

[= Cuora flavomarginata evelynae Ernst and Lovich, 1990; fide, McCord and Iverson, 1991:411, see “Remarks”]

Ernst and Lovich, 1990, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 103(1):31, fig. 1.

Paratypes: USNM 34076 (alcoholic adult male, CL 130 mm), USNM 34077 (alcoholic adult female, CL 124 mm), USNM 34078 (alcoholic juvenile, CL 92 mm), and USNM 34079 (alcoholic juvenile, CL 60 mm), all from Yaeyama, Ishigaki Shima, Sakishima Gunto, Ryukyu Islands, Japan; collector unknown, date unknown, cataloged 11 Jul 1904.

Type Locality: “Ishigaki Shima, Ryukyu Islands, Japan.”

Other Type Material: Holotype: CAS 26113. Paratypes: AMNH 50804; CAS 21026–29, 26102–12, 26801; MCZ 56064.

Etymology: The name evelynae is a genitive form honoring Dr. Evelyn M. Ernst.

Remarks: McCord and Iverson (1991) considered Cuora evelynae to be a subspecies of Cuora flavomarginata. Subsequent morphometric and molecular genetic analyses by Yasukawa and Ota (1999) and Honda et al. (2002) supports the interpretation of C. f. evelynae as a valid subspecies of C. flavomarginata.

Cuora galbinifrons serrata Iverson and McCord, 1992

[= Cuora galbinifrons Bourret, 1939:11 × Cuora mouhotii (Gray, 1862); fide, Parham et al., 2001:363]

Iverson and McCord, 1992, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 105(3):434, fig. 1.

Paratype: USNM 314208 (alcoholic adult female, CL 182 mm), Tainhfien, 100 km east of Tungfang, Hainan Island, China, purchased from locals by Oscar Shiu, early summer 1988.

Type Locality: “100 km east of Tungfang at Tainhfien in central Hainan Island, China.”

Other Type Material: Holotype: UF 81791. Paratypes: UF 81792–98.

Etymology: The name serrata is from the Latin serratus, saw-shaped or serrated, referring to the serrated posterior carapace rim.

Remarks: USNM 314208 is listed as an allotype in the original description. Fritz and Obst (1997) examined the morphology of Cuora galbinifrons serrata Iverson and McCord, 1992, to determine if it and Cuora mouhotii were allopatric or if the two taxa hybridized naturally on Hainan Island, but they rejected the idea of natural hybridization and raised serrata to a full species. Parham et al. (2001) showed the molecular DNA structure of C. serrata is of hybrid origin consisting of genetic material from both the species C. galbinifrons and C. mouhotii. The available evidence indicates that this hybridization is likely the result of recent artificial breeding and that the taxon does not represent a valid phylogenetic species.

The Mexican spotted wood turtle (Rhinoclemmys rubida) or Mexican spotted terrapin is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae.

It is endemic to Mexico. It inhabits the Pacific slope of southern Mexico, from sea level to 1350 meters elevation.

There are two recognized subspecies. R. rubida rubida ranges inhabits Oaxaca and Chiapas, and R. rubida perixantha inhabits Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, and Guerrero.