Hydromedusa, commonly known as the South American snake-necked turtles, is a genus of turtles in the family Chelidae. They are quite closely related to the South American side-necked swamp turtles (Acanthochelys) and the snake-necked turtles of the Australian-Melanesian region (Chelodina), but less closely to the spine-necked river turtles of South America (Podocnemididae) which belong to a more modern lineage of Pleurodira.
Hydromedusa Temporal range: Paleocene-Recent
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Argentine snake-necked turtle, Hydromedusa tectifera | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Pleurodira |
Family: | Chelidae |
Subfamily: | Hydromedusinae |
Genus: | Hydromedusa Wagler 1830 |
Species
editThis genus contains the following three species:
- †Hydromedusa casamayorensis De la Fuente & Bona 2002 - Salamanca and Sarmiento Formations, Argentina
- Hydromedusa maximiliani Mikan 1820 - Brazilian snake-necked turtle
- Hydromedusa tectifera Cope 1869 - Argentine snake-necked turtle
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hydromedusa.
References
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Molina, F. J., & Leynaud, G. C. (2017). Thermoconformity strategy in the freshwater turtle Hydromedusa tectifera (Testudines, Chelidae) in its southern distribution area. Journal of Thermal Biology, 69, 178–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2017.07.008