Showing papers on "Geoemydidae published in 2019"
TL;DR: It is shown that the identification of sex chromosomes in the original report was based on the erroneous pairing of chromosome in the karyogram, causing over decades an error cascade regarding the inferences derived from the putative existence of female heterogamety in geoemydid turtles.
Abstract: For a long time, turtles of the family Geoemydidae have been considered exceptional because representatives of this family were thought to possess a wide variety of sex determination systems. In the present study, we cytogenetically studied Geoemyda spengleri and G. japonica and re-examined the putative presence of sex chromosomes in Pangshura smithii. Karyotypes were examined by assessing the occurrence of constitutive heterochromatin, by comparative genome hybridization and in situ hybridization with repetitive motifs, which are often accumulated on differentiated sex chromosomes in reptiles. We found similar karyotypes, similar distributions of constitutive heterochromatin and a similar topology of tested repetitive motifs for all three species. We did not detect differentiated sex chromosomes in any of the species. For P. smithii, a ZZ/ZW sex determination system, with differentiated sex chromosomes, was described more than 40 years ago, but this finding has never been re-examined and was cited in all reviews of sex determination in reptiles. Here, we show that the identification of sex chromosomes in the original report was based on the erroneous pairing of chromosomes in the karyogram, causing over decades an error cascade regarding the inferences derived from the putative existence of female heterogamety in geoemydid turtles.
26 citations
01 Feb 2019
TL;DR: A new species of Mauremys (Testudines, Geoemydidae) from the late Miocene to Pliocene of three localities in central Macedonia is described, characterized by the presence of exceptionally wide vertebral scutes, a trait that is quite rare within Maurmys but has evolved independently in other pan‐testudinoid non‐ testudinids.
9 citations
31 Aug 2019
TL;DR: Koo et al. as discussed by the authors examined the biotic and abiotic factors that directly and indirectly threaten the survival of Mauremys reevesii within the habitat of the reservoir.
Abstract: In this study, we investigated the habitat characteristics of a reservoir in Gyeongju City, Gyeongbuk, in which a large group of Mauremys reevesii (endangered species Class II and natural monument No. 453 in Korea) was discovered. We examined the biotic and abiotic factors that directly and indirectly threaten the survival of M. reevesii within the habitat. The reservoir where M. reevesii was discovered was built for agriculture and surrounded by submerged trees, dam, forests, reeds, and farmland (paddy field). All of the M. reevesii were found only in the submerged trees on the north side of the reservoir. We found 28 M. reevesii (8 juveniles) and 한국환경생태학회지 33(4): 402-407, 2019 Korean J. Environ. Ecol. 33(4): 402-407, August 2019 ISSN 1229-3857(Print) ISSN 2288-131X(Online) https://doi.org/10.13047/KJEE.2019.33.4.402 한국 내 멸종위기종 남생이 Mauremys reevesii Gray 1831 (Reptilia; Testudines; Geoemydidae)의 집단 서식 및 서식지 현황 보고 구교성⋅장환진⋅김대인⋅김수환⋅백혜준⋅성하철 Report on the Large Population and Habitat Status of Endangered Species, Mauremys reevesii Gray 1831 (Reptilia; Testudines; Geoemydidae) in South Korea Kyo Soung Koo2, Hoan-Jin Jang3, Dae-In Kim4, Su Hwan Kim3, Hae-Jun Baek3, Ha-Cheol Sung5*
3 citations
TL;DR: The occurrence of Rhinoclemmys in the southern Paraguaná Peninsula indicates that during the Late Pleistocene this region had environmental conditions that allowed the survival of these freshwater-terrestrially adapted reptiles, particularly of “paleo-springs” inside a semi-arid region.
Abstract: We describe the first undisputable fossil of Rhinoclemmys (Cryptodira, Geoemydidae) east of the Andes, represented by an isolated nuchal bone found in one of the most important paleontological sites with association of fauna and humans (Muaco site, western Venezuela) from the Late Pleistocene of the southern Caribbean. The nuchal is complete and slightly wider (4.8 cm) than long (4.2 cm), preserving well-defined sulci of the cervical, vertebral 1, marginal 1, and pleural 1. Comparisons with extant and fossil specimens of Rhinoclemmys allow us to attribute this nuchal to Rhinoclemmys, albeit as an indeterminate species. The occurrence of Rhinoclemmys in the southern Paraguana Peninsula indicates that during the Late Pleistocene this region had environmental conditions that allowed the survival of these freshwater-terrestrially adapted reptiles, particularly of “paleo-springs” inside a semi-arid region.
2 citations
TL;DR: The mitochondrial genome sequence of the MeCord's box turtle (Cuora mccordi) was firstly determined by shotgun sequencing and the phylogenetic tree of C. mCCordi and 10 other closely related species was built.
Abstract: The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) sequence of the MeCord's box turtle (Cuora mccordi) was firstly determined by shotgun sequencing. The total length of mitogenome is 16,688 bp, and con...
2 citations
01 Nov 2019
TL;DR: It is indicated that most of the turtle species from the northern and northeastern parts of India have geographical genetic signatures, which will be of use to law enforcement agencies in identifying species effectively in wildlife offence cases.
Abstract: A DNA reference library was generated, and a phylogenetic assessment of 11 turtle species (in nine genera and two families) from Uttarakhand was carried out. Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequences were generated, and the data were compared with published data available for a group from northeastern India to identify geographical signatures. The NJ approach was used to resolve the species taxonomy. A population-level comparative study indicated that most of the turtle species from the northern and northeastern parts of India have geographical genetic signatures. The results of this study can be used to delineate boundaries between or within species and populations. This study will be of use to law enforcement agencies in identifying species effectively in wildlife offence cases.
2 citations
04 Jun 2019
TL;DR: The alpha taxonomy and paleogeography of testudinid and geoemydid turtles of the early Eocene (Wasatchian-Bridgerian) of western North America have received little attention since their original description.
Abstract: The alpha taxonomy and paleogeography of testudinid and geoemydid turtles of the early Eocene (Wasatchian-Bridgerian) of western North America have received little attention since their original description. We reassess the alpha taxonomy of six species of the genera Echmatemys and Hadrianus. Additionally, we analyze new material, including juvenile specimens of Hadrianus corsoni, H. majusculus, E. haydeni and E. naomi. Proceeding taxonomic assessment we also examined a large sample of extant Gopherus agassizii to help us understand what characters were and were not consistent between individuals. This led us to use different characters than other recent assessments of fossil testudinoid morphology. A phylogenetic analysis reveals that the four nominal species of Echmatemys examined form a polyphyletic group, with E. lativertabralis as the outlier. In examining the global stratigraphic distribution of early Testudinidae we conclude that the oldest and most basal tortoises are from the western United States. From this we conclude that the Testudinidae likely evolved in North America from one of the geoemydid-like forms lumped in the genus Echmatemys, which have their lowest stratigraphic occurrence in the earliest Wasatchian North American land-mammal “age” (early Eocene, Ypresian). From here we suggest a bi-directional migration of testudinids to Europe and Asia took place. The Asian migration gave rise to the extant Manouria lineage and the European migration spawned all extant tortoises more derived than Manouria and Gopherus.
2 citations
24 Sep 2019
TL;DR: The methodology of microsatellite isolation constructed in this study is not only cost-effective and time-saving in comparison to traditional approaches, but also can be served as useful tools which benefit population genetics studies and conservation management of M. reevesii.
Abstract: Mauremys reevesii (Gray, 1831), which belongs to Mauremys of Geoemydidae (Testudines), distributed in China, as well as Japan and Korea. Previous studies have developed several polymorphic microsat...
1 citations
TL;DR: A significant contribution is provided regarding the confirmation of taxonomic identity of geographically isolated populations of the species, which might be useful for the conservation and management of the Indian freshwater turtle populations.
1 citations
TL;DR: The mitogenomic phylogeny with other amniotes corroborated the sister relationship of Testudines with Archosaurians (Birds and Crocodilians) and indicated that, most of the Testudine species showed plesiomorphy with typical vertebrate GO.
Abstract: Assam Roofed Turtle, Pangshura sylhetensis is an endangered and least studied species endemic to India and Bangladesh. The genomic feature of P. sylhetensis mitogenome is still anonymous to the scientific community. The present study decodes the first complete mitochondrial genome of P. sylhetensis (16,568 bp) by using next-generation sequencing. This de novo assembly encodes 13 Protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), two ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), and one control region (CR). Most of the genes were encoded on the majority strand, except NADH dehydrogenase subunit 6 (nad6) and eight tRNAs. Most of the PCGs were started with an ATG initiation codon, except for Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (nad5) with GTG. The study also found the typical cloverleaf secondary structure in most of the tRNA genes, except for serine (trnS1) with lack of conventional DHU arm and loop. Both, Bayesian and Maximum-likelihood topologies showed distinct clustering of all the Testudines species with their respective taxonomic ranks and congruent with the previous phylogenetic hypotheses (Pangshura and Batagur sister taxa). Nevertheless, the mitogenomic phylogeny with other amniotes corroborated the sister relationship of Testudines with Archosaurians (Birds and Crocodilians). Additionally, the mitochondrial Gene Order (GO) analysis indicated that, most of the Testudines species showed plesiomorphy with typical vertebrate GO.