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Taxonomy and Evolution of the Asiatic Softshell Turtle (Amyda Cartilaginea) - Bibliography

By Mariah Lobley

Fritz, U., Gemel, R., Kehlmaier, C. Vamberger, M., & Praschag, P. (2014). Phylogeography of the Asian softshell turtle Amyda cartilaginea (BODDAERT, 1770): evidence for a species complex. VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY, 64(2), 229-243. Retrieved from http://www.senckenberg.de/files/content/forschung/publikationen/vertebratezoology/vz64-2/09_vertebrate_zoology_64-2_fritz_229-243.pdf

Taxonomy and Evolution of the Asiatic Softshell Turtle (Amyda Cartilaginea) - Outline

By Mariah Lobley

-         Taxonomy and evolution of Asian soft-shelled turtles, more specifically amyda cartilaginea

-         Although species originally thought to be made up of  a single, relatively consistent type of clade, osteological characteristics in amyda cartilaginea that are studied say differently

-         It’s a species with some major variation among its different (six known right now) terminal clades.

-         Study (Fritz, Gemel, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Praschag, 2014) shown that there are three main types of subspecies among amyda cartilaginea, and two of those subspecies branch off into even more clades. 

-         According to genetic information, amyda cartilaginea is organized into “two differentiation levels”.  Basically, it can be argued that Clades A, B, and C (amyda cartiloginea, amyda ornata, and amyda (unnamed)) represent three separate species, two of which branch further into different subspecies. 

1.  Amyda cartiloginea – Clade B

·        Amyda cartilaginea cartinaginea (found in E. Sunde, E. Borneo, Java, and Sulawesi) – Clade 2

-         Exhibits typical markings and overall look as the typical amyda cartiloginea (“an abundance of yellow spots over the body, yellow-rimmed black ocelli on the carapace, black reticulation on a yellow-olive-brown ground color at the crown of the head”)

·        Amyda cartilaginea maculosa (Sumatra West Borneo) – Clade 1

2.  Amyda ornata – Clade C (“arrow headed form”, “lighter base colour and a more diffuse yellow spotting, which is ‘usually restricted to the cheeks, there are no ocelli but black dots may be present on the carapace, the nuchal tubercles are always weakly developed and the animals always show three (or rarely two) converging black lines on the head’”

·        Amyda ornata ornata (Laos, Cambodia) – Clade 6

-         Along with clades 4 and 5, “Their morphology matches the turtles studied by KUCHLING et al. 2004”

·        Amyda ornata phayrei (Thailand, Mizoram) – Clade 5

-         

·        Amyda ornata subspecies (Bangladesh) – Clade 4 

-         “a rather uniform pale coloration and very large tubercles in the nuchal and back region of the carapace”

-         Not enough information to give this subspecies a more descriptive name

3.  (“unconfirmed candidate species”) Amyda (unnamed) (“Identified with primal clade 1, Fig. 1)  (Sarawde, Melaysia (Borom River)) – Clade 3 – Clade A

- Not enough information to name this candidate species. 

- “Saddle-blotched colouration”; the turtles that belong(ed) to this clade all exhibited “a very similar dark carapacial mark”. 

Taxonomy and Evolution of the Asiatic Softshell Turtle – Rough Draft 

By Mariah Lobley

The Asian softshell turtle, otherwise known as Amyda cartilaginea, is made up of three main types of species, two of which branch into further subspecies.   

The three main types of discovered species are as follows: Amyda cartilaginea, Amyda ornata, and Amyda (unnamed due to a relative lack of information on this species).  Both Amyda cartilaginea and Amyda ornata branch into further subspecies, while Amyda (unnamed) is a terminal clade in itself.  Amyda cartilaginea’s subspecies are: Amyda cartilaginea cartilaginea (located in E. Sunde, E. Borneo, Java, and Sulawesi) and Amyda cartilaginea maculosa (found in Sumatra and West Borneo).  Amyda ornata’s subspecies include Amyda ornata ornata (Found in Laos and Cambodia), Amyda ornata phayrei (Found in Thailand and Mizoram), and Amyda ornata subspecies (unnamed) (found in Bangladesh). 

As for any marked different physical characteristics, Amyda cartilaginea cartilaginea exhibits the typical markings and overall look as the originally recognized species of Amyda cartilaginea, and has “an abundance of yellow spots over the body, yellow-rimmed black ocelli on the carapace, black reticulation on a yellow-olive-brown ground color at the crown of the head” (Fritz, Gemel, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, & Praschag, 2014).  The species Amyda ornata is of an “arrow headed form” and has a “lighter base color and a more diffuse yellow spotting, which is ‘usually restricted to the cheeks, there are no ocelli but black dots may be present on the carapace, the nuchal tubercles are always weakly developed and the animals always show three (or rarely two) converging black lines on the head’” (Fritz, Gemel, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, & Praschag, 2014).  Along with Amyda ornata subspecies (unnamed) and Amyda ornata phayrei, Amyda ornata ornata’s “morphology matches the turtles studied by KUCHLING et al. 2004” (Fritz, Gemel, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, & Praschag, 2014).  In addition, Amyda ornata subspecies (unnamed) has “a rather uniform pale color and very large tubercles in the nuchal and back region of the carapace” (Fritz, Gemel, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, & Praschag, 2014).  The unconfirmed candidate species, Amyda (unnamed), exhibits a “Saddle-blotched colouration”; the turtles that belong(ed) to this clade all exhibited “a very similar dark carapacial mark” (Fritz, Gemel, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, & Praschag, 2014).    

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