Pond Turtles in Panama

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Kingbird77
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Pond Turtles in Panama

Post by Kingbird77 »

Hello,
I'm leading a birdwatching tour at the moment in Panama and have a question about the pond turtles in the canal zone. To my eye they look like Trachemys scripta, but I have seen reports of Chrysemys ornatus here and I really do not know how to separate the two. Any suggestions would be welcome.
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Antonsrkn
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Re: Pond Turtles in Panama

Post by Antonsrkn »

If you have photos post them, that will make things easier.

In my experience Meso-American sliders (Trachemys venusta) were common in the canal zone and I saw them frequently while I was down there. I think that T. venusta was elevated to species status from T. scripta ornata awhile back. I am unaware of a chrysemys ornatus but looking at the similarity of the name to the old subspecies of T. scripta ornata maybe there is some confusion there?

My money is on T. venusta.
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Mike VanValen
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Re: Pond Turtles in Panama

Post by Mike VanValen »

Not sure why Chrysemys is retained in some publications. Trachemys ornata was elevated from scripta but I don't believe they are present in Panama. I agree that venusta is probably what you are seeing.
AsydaBass
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Re: Pond Turtles in Panama

Post by AsydaBass »

Ditto. Those guys are correct about T. venusta and the canal zone.

-Don
www.RainforestDon.com
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Jon Wedow
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Re: Pond Turtles in Panama

Post by Jon Wedow »

Here's one of of those turtles from near the Gatun locks in Gamboa
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Antonsrkn
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Re: Pond Turtles in Panama

Post by Antonsrkn »

And here is a young one from Barro Colorado, besides the shell looks alot like a red eared slider.
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Kingbird77
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Re: Pond Turtles in Panama

Post by Kingbird77 »

Thanks to all the responders,
Any tips where I might find a online current (and generally accepted) taxonomy of amphibians and reptiles of the world?
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