''Mesoclemmys raniceps'' is a side-necked

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...

found in the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

and

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

basin. Little is known about the turtle's

life cycle Life cycle, life-cycle, or lifecycle may refer to: Science and academia *Biological life cycle, the sequence of life stages that an organism undergoes from birth to reproduction ending with the production of the offspring *Life-cycle hypothesis, ...

, but there is evidence that the females can lay a clutch of 4-8 eggs several times in the year. Males are usually smaller than females in length. Males can be distinguished from females by the prominent white scales they have on the external border of their skin which cover the tibia. Mesoclemmys raniceps can be identified by the black stripe on each side of their head which extends from the snout through the eyes and ends at the exterior end, the tympani.

References

5. Vogt, R. C., Franco, J. A. G., Fernandes, T. undefined, & Cunha, F. undefined. (2019, March 29). Reproductive Biology and Hatchling Morphology of the Amazon Toad-headed Turtle (Mesoclemmys raniceps) (Testudines: Chelidae), with Notes on Species Morphology and Taxonomy of the Mesoclemmys Group. Vol. 18 issue 2. 195–209. raniceps Turtles of South America Fauna of the Amazon Reptiles of Bolivia Reptiles of Brazil Reptiles of Colombia Reptiles of Ecuador Reptiles of Peru Reptiles of Venezuela Reptiles described in 1856 Taxa named by John Edward Gray {{Turtle-stub