Reptiles Database

Order Testudines (Turtles)
Suborder Cryptodira (Hidden-necked Turtles)
Superfamily Kinosternoidea

Family Dermatemydidae (Mesoamerican River Turtles)


This family consists of only one species, Dermatemys mawii.

Dermatemys mawii
© Wayne van Devender

Appearance: Oblong, slightly domed carapace, large plastron, moderately small head.

Distribution: Southern Mexico to northern Honduras.

Habitat: Aquatic, in large rivers, lakes, and temporary pools. Occassionally enters brackish water.

Behavior: Mostly nocturnal; foraging occurs at night. Adapted to its aquatic lifestyle, only rarely surfacing. Captive individuals continually take water in through the mouth and expel it from the nostrils (Ernst and Barbour 1989).

Size: up to 65 cm (max. carapace length)

Food: Vegetarian; aquatic plants, fruit and seeds that fall into the water.

Reproduction: oviparous (2-20 eggs per clutch); courtship and mating from May to September, egg depostition from October to December; females nest along rivers. Occassionally nests are submerged but eggs often survive by developmental arrest. Incubation is 8 to 10 months; hatching occurs in June and July with the beginning of the rainy season.

Conservation: The Mesoamerican River turtle is easily captured and serves as a local food item. Now endangered.

Taxonomy and relationships: Sister taxon of the Kinosternidae (Mud Turtles and Musk Turtles).

List of genera:

References:

Gaffney, Eugene S.;Meylan, Peter A.;Wyss, Andre R. (1991)
A computer assisted analysis of the relationships of the higher categories of turtles.
Cladistics 7: 313-335

Goin,C.J., Goin,O.B. & Zug,G.R. (1978)
Introduction to Herpetology, 3rd ed.
W.H. Freeman & Co., San Francisco
ISBN 0-7167-0020-4

Iverson J B; Mittermeier R A (1980)
Dermatemydidae. River turtles.
Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles No. 237 1980: 1-4

Pough,F. H. (Editor), Robin M. Andrews, John E. Cadle, Mart Crump, Harvey F. Pough (1997)
Herpetology.
Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 577 pp.

Shaffer, H.B.; Meylan, P. & McKnight, M.L. (1997)
Tests of turtle phylogeny: molecular, morphological, and paleontological approaches.
Syst. Biol. 46: 235-268

Zug,G.R.; Vitt, L.J. & Caldwell, J.P. (2001)
Herpetology, 2nd ed.
Academic Press San Diego, London, [...]XIV + 630 pp. [here; p. 450]