''Cyclemys'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of freshwater

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 ...

s, commonly referred to as Asian leaf turtles, from 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 genus occurs throughout

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

and

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

, and currently contains seven

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

. Asian leaf turtles average in length. They are mostly brown to greenish in color, with round to rectangular shells. Their

carapace A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the unde ...

s bear a superficial resemblance to

plant leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

, hence their

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

. They can be found around shallow, slow-moving bodies of water in hilly forests. Adults are primarily

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

, though juveniles are more aquatic.

Taxonomy and nomenclature

''Cyclemys'' turtles belong to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

under the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classifica ...

Geoemydinae. They were first described in 1834 by English

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

Thomas Bell in his work ''A Monograph of the Testudinata''. ''Cyclemys'' and closely related genera ('' Cuora'', '' Pyxidea'', and ''

Notochelys The Malayan flat-shelled turtle (''Notochelys platynota'') is a species of turtle found in Southeast Asia. Distribution Myanmar, Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a countr ...

'') are believed to have diverged from a common ''

Heosemys ''Heosemys'' is a genus of freshwater turtles ("terrapins" in British English) in the family Geoemydidae (formerly called Bataguridae). The genus ''Heosemys'' was split out of the related genus ''Geoemyda'' by McDowell in 1964. Species Four ...

''-like ancestor. Cycle denta 100207-0641 ipb

''Cyclemys''

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

and

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological s ...

have been historically difficult to ascertain due to the morphological similarity between species, as well as changes in the color patterns during growth. Until recently, the genus was thought to comprise only one or two morphologically variable species, ''C. dentata'' and ''C. oldhamii''.Asian Turtle Trade Working Group 2000.
Cyclemys dentata
'. In: IUCN 2010
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
. Version 2010.4. Retrieved March 25, 2011. Subsequent investigation has now put the number of species under the genus to seven, though this remains controversial. The status of ''C. enigmatica'' as a valid species is contested, as is the recognition of ''C. atripons'' and ''C. pulchristiata'', both of which are nearly impossible to tell apart morphologically. Previously recognized species, ''C. tcheponensis'' ( = ''C. tiannanensis'') and ''C. shanensis'', have been merged into ''C. oldhamii'' following mtDNA sequencing. The conclusions of which showed that the morphological differences between them (the presence or absence of neck/head stripes, and hatchling color patterns) were not enough to classify them as separate species. ''C. ovata'' has been similarly subsumed into ''C. dentata''. The two distinct morphological differences between ''Cyclemys'' species are based on the main color of their plastrons - species with yellow bellies ('' C. atripons'', '' C. dentata'', and '' C. pulchristiata''), and species with dark bellies ('' C. enigmatica'', '' C. fusca'', '' C. gemeli'', and '' C. oldhamii'').

Synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are ...

of ''Cyclemys'' (''

ex errore This is a list of terms and symbols used in scientific names for organisms, and in describing the names. For proper parts of the names themselves, see List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names. Note that many of the abbreviat ...

'') include: ''Cyclemus'' Li, ''Cyclemis'' Good, and ''Cyclemy'' Mao. The generic name ''Cyclemys'' comes from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

(, meaning 'round' or 'circle', referring to the shape of the

) and (; 'freshwater turtle'). They are known under the

Asian leaf turtles or simply leaf turtles, again because of the appearance of their carapaces. They share the collective name 'leaf turtles' with turtles of the genus ''

Geoemyda ''Geoemyda'' is a genus of freshwater turtles in the family Geoemydidae (formerly Bataguridae). It contains two species:Mauremys annamensis''), among others. 'Asian leaf turtle' is also the specific common name of ''C. dentata''.

Description

''Cyclemys'' turtles are characterized by more or less round

s, which are typically dark green, brownish, tan, or olive in color. The shell may have a prominent vertebral

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

running from head to tail. Serrated marginal

scute A scute or scutum (Latin: ''scutum''; plural: ''scuta'' "shield") is a bony external plate or scale overlaid with horn, as on the shell of a turtle, the skin of crocodilians, and the feet of birds. The term is also used to describe the anterior po ...

s are common in juveniles. In adults, only the posterior marginal

s are serrated. Adults of ''Cyclemys'' also develop a joint in the middle of their plastrons (known as a plastral hinge), enabling them to articulate the front and rear halves to some extent. Unlike the closely related ''Cuora'', which can completely close its shell because of the hinge, ''Cyclemys'' plastral hinges only close the shell partially. The plastral hinge may also play a significant role in facilitating egg-laying in adult females. A distinguishing characteristic of the genus is the secondary division of the abdominal scutes (the middle pair of scutes in the plastron) due to the development of the plastral hinge as the turtle matures. It eventually leads to the formation of small triangular additional scutes between the abdominal and pectoral scutes. ''Cyclemys'' turtles are cryptodires, having the ability to pull their heads straight back and vertically into their shells instead of folding them sideways like pleurodires. The head varies between species from dull to striped with bright red or orange bands of color. The plastron can have a dark or light (tan to yellow) background which can be uniform or patterned with fine lines radiating from the center of each plastral scute. Their feet are partially webbed and well developed for either aquatic or terrestrial mobility. They can grow to about in length. ''Cyclemys'' species achieve sexual maturity after seven to 12 years, earlier for males and later for females.

Sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...

is apparently mostly absent, though females are likely to outgrow males. Females usually deposit 10 to 15 eggs per clutch.

Lifespan

A ''C. dentata'' individual has been recorded living up to 14.7 years in captivity. However, an adult specimen caught in the wild has also been recorded living another 14 years, making it likely that the maximum lifespan of ''Cyclemys'' species has been underestimated.

Distribution and habitat

The distribution ranges of individual species of ''Cyclemys'' remain unclear, but the genus occurs in

and

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

(

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, central to southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

, and northeastern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

), as well as the Southeast Asian countries of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...

, and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Adults spend most of their time on land. They can be found near ponds, streams, and other shallow, slow-moving bodies of water in hilly forests. Although more common in lower elevations, they have been found in higher elevations exceeding

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

. They are

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

, but juveniles tend to be more

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other ...

. Because their prey are typically aquatic, the younger turtles are found in water more often than adults.

Species

The species are listed alphabetically along with common names, identifying adult characteristics, and known geographical distribution.

Turtle Taxonomy Working Group The Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (TTWG) is an informal working group of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG). It is composed of a number of leading turtle Taxonomy (biology), taxonomists, with varying participation b ...

(Rhodin, A.G.J., van Dijk, P.P, Iverson, J.B., and Shaffer, H.B.).2010
Turtles of the World, 2010 update: annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution, and conservation status
In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Pritchard, P.C.H., van Dijk, P.P., Saumure, R.A., Buhlmann, K.A., Iverson, J.B., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. ''Chelonian Research Monographs'' No. 5. pp. 000.85-000.164, They are divided into two morphologically distinct groups. Cycle denta 100207-0631 ipb

Yellow-bellied species

*'' Cyclemys atripons'' (Iverson & McCold, 1997) – western black-bridged leaf turtle or striped leaf turtle *''

Cyclemys dentata The Asian leaf turtle (''Cyclemys dentata'') is a species of turtle found in Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographi ...

'' (Gray, 1831) – Asian leaf turtle or brown stream terrapin *'' Cyclemys pulchristiata'' (Fritz, Gaulke, and Lehr 1997) – eastern black-bridged leaf turtle

Dark-bellied species

*'' Cyclemys enigmatica'' Fritz, Guicking, Auer, Sommer, Wink & Hundsdörfer, 2008 –

enigmatic leaf turtle ''Cyclemys enigmatica'', also known as the enigmatic leaf turtle, is a species of Asian leaf turtle. It is found in the Greater Sunda Islands and the Malay Peninsula. Description In the enigmatic leaf turtle, the carapace is dark brown and slig ...

*'' Cyclemys fusca'' Fritz, Guicking, Auer, Sommer, Wink & Hundsdörfer, 2008 – Myanmar brown leaf turtle *'' Cyclemys gemeli'' Fritz, Guicking, Auer, Sommer, Wink & Hundsdörfer, 2008 – Assam leaf turtle *'' Cyclemys oldhamii'' Gray, 1863 – Oldham's leaf turtle, Southeast Asian leaf turtle Several species previously classified under ''Cyclemys'' – ''C. amboinensis'', ''C. flavomarginata'', ''C. mouhotti'', and ''C. trifasciata'' – are now classified under the genus '' Cuora''. ''C. annandalii'' is now classified under ''

'', ''C. annamensis'' under '' Mauremys'', and ''C. giebelii'' as '' Notochelys platynota''.

Conservation

''Cyclemys'' species are often caught and sold for the pet trade, food, or

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

. On August 25, 1998, Forest Protection authorities of

confiscated a shipment of about 700 turtles with an estimated 30 individuals of ''C. oldhamii''. In May 2007, more than 3000 individuals of ''Cyclemys'', along with Asian box turtles, were confiscated in hundreds of crates in

Yangjiang Yangjiang (, ), alternately romanized as Yeungkong, is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Guangdong Province in the People's Republic of China. It borders Maoming to the west, Yunfu to the north, Jiangmen to the east, and looks out to the S ...

, China. The most commonly encountered species of ''Cyclemys'' in the pet trade, ''C. dentata'', is now being captive bred. They are usually preferred, as they are healthier, more acclimated to handling, and captive breeding minimizes the impact on wild populations. The confusion over their exact taxonomy and distribution led to an incomplete assessment of their conservation status by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

. In 1991, with only two species recognized, ''Cyclemys'' was given the Action Plan Rating of 3 - in need of some conservation action. In the last assessment in 2000 by the Asian Turtle Trade Working Group of IUCN, the different species currently recognized under the genus ''Cyclemys'' were treated as all belonging to the species ''C. dentata''. This resulted in the current incorrect classification of all of the species as lower risk/

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

. Until now, the true conservation status, the actual effects of

wildlife trade Wildlife trade refers to the of products that are derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, t ...

, deforestation, and habitat loss on individual ''Cyclemys'' species, have yet to be studied.

References

External links

Care Sheets for Asian leaf turtles

Video of a pet ''Cyclemys dentata''
{{Taxonbar , from=Q2111135 Turtle genera Taxa named by Thomas Bell (zoologist)