''Clemmys'' is a genus of turtles currently containing a single extant species, the
spotted turtle
The spotted turtle (''Clemmys guttata''), the only species of the genus ''Clemmys'', is a small, semi-aquatic turtle that reaches a carapace length of upon adulthood. Their broad, smooth, low dark-colored upper shell, or carapace, ranges in its ...
''(Clemmys guttata)''.
Taxonomy
In the past, several other species were included in the genus, including a number of fossil species. DNA analysis has restricted the genus to containing only the spotted turtle. Fossil species are now restricted to the
Neogene of
North America as far back as the
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
.
Extant species formerly in ''Clemmys''
*
Wood turtle
The wood turtle (''Glyptemys insculpta'') is a species of turtle endemic to North America. It is in the genus ''Glyptemys'', a genus which contains only one other species of turtle: the bog turtle (''Glyptemys muhlenbergii'' ). The wood turtle ...
- now ''Glyptemys insculpta''
*
Bog turtle
The bog turtle (''Glyptemys muhlenbergii'') is a critically endangered species of semiaquatic turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the eastern United States. It was first scientifically described in 1801 after an 18th-century ...
- now ''Glyptemys muhlenbergii''
*
Western pond turtle
The Western pond turtle (''Actinemys marmorata''), also known commonly as the Pacific pond turtle is a species of small to medium-sized turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the western coast of the United States and Mexico, r ...
- now ''Actinemys marmorata''
Fossil species
*†''
Clemmys hesperia
''Clemmys'' is a genus of turtles currently containing a single extant species, the spotted turtle ''(Clemmys guttata)''.
Taxonomy
In the past, several other species were included in the genus, including a number of fossil species. DNA analysis ...
''
Hay, 1903 -
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58[Clemmys owyheensis
''Clemmys'' is a genus of turtles currently containing a single extant species, the spotted turtle ''(Clemmys guttata)''.
Taxonomy
In the past, several other species were included in the genus, including a number of fossil species. DNA analysis ...](_blank)
''
Brattstrom & Sturn, 1959 - Miocene (
Hemphillian
The Hemphillian North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 10,300,000 to 4,900,000 years BP. It is usually considered t ...
)
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5131548
Turtle genera
Reptile genera with one living species
Taxa named by Ferdinand August Maria Franz von Ritgen