Mesoamerican River Turtle

The Mesoamerican River Turtle (Dermatemys mawii) locally known as the "hickatee" or "tortuga blanca"-(white turtle) is the only species

Species

In biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....

 in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...

 Dermatemydidae. It is a nocturnal

Nocturnal animal

Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The opposite, diurnality, is associated with human lifestyle and most familiar animal species. The intermediate crepuscular schedule is also common. Some species are active both during...

, aquatic turtle

Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...

 that lives in larger rivers and lakes in Central America

Central America

Managua
Guatemala City
San Salvador
San Pedro Sula
Panama City
San José, Costa Rica
Santa Ana, El Salvador
León
San Miguel|-|}...

, from southern Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 to northern Honduras

Honduras

Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras...

. It is considered an endangered species

Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters. Also it could mean that due to deforestation there may be a lack of food and/or water...

.

Description

Dermatemys species are fairly large turtles, attaining a maximum size of 65 cm (25 inches) in carapace

Carapace

A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids as well as vertebrates such as chelonians, order Testudines, turtles and tortoises.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the carapace is a part of the exoskeleton...

 length, and they can weigh in the range of 20 kg (44 lbs).

They have a flattened carapace, that is usually a solid grey

Grey

Grey or gray describes the tints and shades ranging from black to white. These, including white and black, are known as achromatic colors or neutral colors. In recent years, "neutral colors" had been reclassified...

 or almost black

Black

Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...

 in color. Their plastron

Plastron

The plastron is the nearly flat part of the shell structure of a turtle or tortoise, what one would call the belly, similar in composition to the carapace; with an external layer of horny material divided into plates called scutes and an underlying layer of interlocking bones.In certain families...

 is normally cream colored. In juveniles, a distinctive keel is found down the center of the carapace, and the outer edges have serrations. These features are lost as the turtle ages. Its skin is predominantly the same color as the shell, with red

Red

Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked human eye...

dish or peach colored markings around the neck and underside. Males can be differentiated from females by yellow markings on either side of their head, and a longer, thicker tail.

Reproduction

Mating and nesting occurs in the fall, from September to November. Females lay clutches of 6-20 eggs

Egg (biology)

In most birds and reptiles, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo. When the embryo is adequately developed it breaks out of the egg in the...

 on the banks of waterways that they otherwise would not normally be able to reach without the flooding caused by the seasonal rainfall.

Conservation status

Rarely found in captivity, the river turtle has been over-hunted because of its value in the food market. Even the hatchlings and eggs are sold as food. The species' normally passive nature makes them relatively easy to catch. As such, they have been listed as a CITES Appendix II

Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna

CITES is an international agreement between governments, drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1973 at a meeting of members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature...

to prevent exportation, and there are local laws in place to prevent them from being hunted.

External links

• Animal Diversity Web