Oldham's leaf turtle explained

Oldham's leaf turtle (Cyclemys oldhamii) is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae.

Etymology

Both the specific name, oldhamii, and the common name, Oldham's leaf turtle, are in honor of Thomas Oldham, Superintendent of the Geological Survey of India.^[1] The generic name Cyclemys comes from the Greek κύκλος (kyklos, meaning 'round' or 'circle', referring to the shape of the carapace) and εμύς (emys; 'freshwater turtle').^[2]

Geographic range

C. oldhamii is found in Bangladesh, in the terai of mizoram, in Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, West Borneo, Sumatra and Java. In addition, Cyclemys oldhami shanensis – sometimes considered a distinct species due to its shell pattern, oft described as looking similar to aged meat - occurs from central Myanmar to Thailand and Cambodia. The type locality was originally given as "Mergui and Siam", and restricted to Mergui by Smith (1931).^[3]

Hybrid

In Germany, a case of hybridization between a male Cyclemys (oldhamii) shanensis and a female Chinese stripe-necked turtle has been described.^[4]

See also

• Cyclemys

References

• (1918). "Chelonia and Batrachia of the Inlé Lake". Records of the Indian Museum (Calcutta) 14: 67–69.
• (2005). "On the hybridisation between two distantly related Asian turtles (Testudines: Sacalia × Mauremys)". Salamandra 41: 21–26. PDF fulltext
• (1997). "Revision der südostasiatischen Dornschildkröten-Gattung Cyclemys Bell 1834, mit Beschreibung einer neuen Art ". Salamandra 33 (3): 183–212. (in German).
• (1863). "Observations on the box tortoises, with the Descriptions of Three New Asiatic species". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1863: 173–179. (Cyclemys oldhamii, new species, p. 178).
• (1864). "Observations on the box tortoises, with the Descriptions of Three New Asiatic species". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Third Series 13: 105–111.
• (2002). "New data on the diversity of the Southeast Asian leaf turtle genus Cyclemys BELL, 1834. Molecular results (reptilia: Testudines: Geoemydidae)". Faunistische Abhandlungen des Staatlichen Museums für Tierkunde Dresden 23 (4): 75–86.
• (2003). "Die Dornschildkröten der Gattung Cyclemys BELL, 1834 ". Draco 4 (13): 37–42. (in German).

Notes and References

1. James Edward Gray. Supplement to the Catalogue of the shield reptiles in the collection of the British Museum. https://books.google.com/books?id=TedAAAAAcAAJ&dq=oldham+mergui&pg=RA2-PA23
2. Web site: Genus: Cyclemys (Asian Leaf Turtles). Tabaka. Chris. Senneke. Darrell. January 28, 2003. World Chelonian Trust. March 27, 2011.
3. Book: Smith, Malcolm A. . Malcolm Arthur Smith . 1931 . The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma . London . Taylor & Francis. Stephenson. J.. John Stephenson (zoologist). The Secretary of State for India in Council. I. Loricata. Testudines.. 80.
4. Schilde . Maik . Barth . Dana . Fritz. Uwe. 2004 . An Ocadia sinensis x Cyclemys shanensis hybrid (Testudines: Geoemydidae) . Asiatic Herpetological Research . 10 . 120–125 . 2022-05-27.