The Iberian pond turtle (''Mauremys leprosa''), also known as the Mediterranean pond turtle or Mediterranean turtle, is a species of

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 t ...

in the family

Geoemydidae The Geoemydidae (formerly known as Bataguridae) are one of the largest and most diverse families in the order Testudines (turtles), with about 70 species. The family includes the Eurasian pond and river turtles and Neotropical wood turtles. Mem ...

. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to southwestern Europe and northwestern Africa.

Subspecies

Including the

nominotypical subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

, there are two sub-species which are accepted: *''M. leprosa leprosa'' – Iberian pond turtle *''M. leprosa saharica'' – Saharan pond turtle

Gallery

Saharan pond turtle (Mauremys leprosa saharica) male.jpg, male ''M. l. saharica'',

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

Saharan pond turtles (Mauremys leprosa saharica) adults and juvenile.jpg, adults and juvenile ''M. l. saharica'',

Mediterranean Pond Turtle (Mauremys leprosa) (26388139170).jpg, swimming Mauremys leprosa 01.JPG, Juvenile

Distribution

''Mauremys leprosa'' is native to the western mainland Mediterranean Basin, stretching from the tip of southern France to the northwestern

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

(in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya). It is most frequent in the southern half of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

(Portugal and Spain).

References

Bibliography

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q582797 Mauremys Turtles of Africa Turtles of Europe Reptiles described in 1812 Taxa named by August Friedrich Schweigger Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN