Anders G J Rhodin

• M.D.
• Founder and Director at Chelonian Research Foundation

We describe a new species of small chelid turtle from perennial streams in the Araguaia River subbasin near Serra das Andorinhas State Park, São Geraldo do Araguaia, Pará, Brazil. It is morphologically distinct and the smallest known member of the genus Mesoclemmys, with an average straight-line carapace length (CL) of 144 mm and maximum recorded C...

Comprehensive assessments of species’ extinction risks have documented the extinction crisis and underpinned strategies for reducing those risks. Global assessments reveal that, among tetrapods, 40.7% of amphibians, 25.4% of mammals and 13.6% of birds are threatened with extinction. Because global assessments have been lacking, reptiles have been o...

Turtles are one of the most threatened groups of vertebrates, with about 60% of species classified at some level of extinction risk. Compounding this extinction crisis are cryptic species and species complexes that are evaluated under a single species epithet but harbor multiple species, each of which needs to be evaluated independently. The Phryno...

Comprehensive assessments of species’ extinction risks have documented the extinction crisis and underpinned strategies for reducing those risks. Global assessments reveal that, among tetrapods, 40.7% of amphibians, 25.4% of mammals and 13.6% of birds are threatened with extinction. Because global assessments have been lacking, reptiles have been o...

Assessing community assembly rules has been a prominent task by community ecologists. Using a turtle family (Pelomedusidae) as a study case, we analyze the structure of their communities from the continental scale to the habitat scale, by using a suite of statistical approaches: (i) GIS modeling of the most complete presence sites dataset (from IUC...

This is our 9th edition of an annotated checklist and atlas of all recognized taxa of the world’s modern turtle and tortoise fauna, documenting recent changes and controversies through mid-2021, and including all primary synonyms, updated from eight previous checklists. We provide an updated comprehensive listing of taxonomy and nomenclature, inclu...

Due to a prolonged civil war (1983-2005 and 2013-2020), the republic of South Sudan in East Africa, which was officially born in 2011, has been one of the least investigated nations of the continent in terms of chelonian diversity, distribution, ecology, and conservation. Since 2017, this nation has been subjected to careful chelonian field investi...

Some conservation prioritization methods are based on the assumption that conservation needs overwhelm current resources and not all species can be conserved; therefore, a conservation triage scheme (i.e., when the system is overwhelmed, species should be divided into three groups based on likelihood of survival, and efforts should be focused on th...

Conservation planners use a variety of decision-making tools, many of which require identifying and prioritizing spatial units based on their biodiversity and levels of imperilment. Turtles are highly imperiled, but present schemes for determining global priority areas are focused mostly on broad regional scales. We conduct the first global evaluat...

Editorial Introduction. — This section is devoted to poetry involving turtles, representing either reprinted previously published or new unpublished material. We encourage our readers to submit poetry or songs for consideration, either their own material or work by other authors. Poems may be submitted to Anders G.J. Rhodin, Chelonian Research Foun...

This is an initial effort to provide a complete bibliography of all of Peter Pritchard’s publications, especially those on turtles and tortoises, but since he himself did not maintain a formal listing of all of his output, especially in the latter part of his career, we acknowledge that this list may be incomplete. As we continue to curate his lega...

Turtles and tortoises (chelonians) have been integral components of global ecosystems for about 220 million years and have played important roles in human culture for at least 400,000 years. The chelonian shell is a remarkable evolutionary adaptation, facilitating success in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Today, more than half of th...

Defaunation in the Anthropocene has created a need to focus limited conservation resources on geographically explicit areas with high conservation significance. Priority conservation areas are often defined as those with high biodiversity – hotspots. While these conservation areas are critical to securing global biodiversity, prevailing approaches...

We present a review and analysis of the conservation status and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threat categories of all 360 currently recognized species of extant and recently extinct turtles and tortoises (Order Testudines). Our analysis is based on the 2018 IUCN Red List status of 251 listed species, augmented by provisiona...

Red Listing Assessment of Phrynops williamsi, William's Side-necked turtle

Taxonomy is a scientific discipline that has provided the universal naming and classification system of biodiversity for centuries and continues effectively to accommodate new knowledge. A recent publication by Garnett and Christidis [1] expressed concerns regarding the difficulty that taxonomic changes represent for conservation efforts and propos...

This book presents a brief summary of the 25th most endangered tortoise and turtle species. The summary includes both common and scientific names, distribution, causes of population decrease, and conservation strategies.

Red Listing Assessment Acanthochelys macrocephala, Pantanal Swamp Turtle

This is our 8th edition of an annotated checklist of all recognized and named taxa of the world’s modern chelonian fauna, documenting recent changes and controversies in nomenclature through early 2017, and including all primary synonyms, updated from 7 previous checklists (Turtle Taxonomy Working Group 2007b, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014; Rhodin e...

The Asiatic Softshell Turtle, Amyda cartilaginea (Family Trionychidae), is a large species (total carapace length up to 850 mm) showing considerable variation in coloration over its wide range in tropical Southeast Asia. A recent genetic analysis suggests A. cartilaginea may be a species complex consisting of three species level clades with several...

We analyzed the taxon richness and endemism of tortoises and freshwater turtles in the world’s premier biodiversity conservation priority areas and countries with greatest turtle richness. Turtle hotspots include biodiversity hotspots (BHS), high-biodiversity wilderness areas (HBWA), and additional turtle priority areas (TPA) previously identified....

Humans depend on biodiversity in myriad ways, yet species are being rapidly lost due to human activities. The ecosystem services approach to conservation tries to establish the value that society derives from the natural world such that the true cost of proposed development actions becomes apparent to decision makers. Species are an integral compon...

Abstract. – We provide a first checklist and review of all recognized taxa of the world's extinct Pleistocene and Holocene (Quaternary) turtles and tortoises that existed during the early rise and global expansion of humanity, and most likely went extinct through a combination of earlier hominin (e.g., Homo erectus, H. neanderthalensis) and later h...

Rhodin, A.G.J., H. Kaiser, P.P. van Dijk, W. Wüster, M. O’Shea, M. Archer, M. Auliya, L. Boitani, R. Bour, V. Clausnitzer, T. Contreras-MacBeath, B.I. Crother, J.M. Daza, C.A. Driscoll, O. Flores-Villela, J. Frazier, U. Fritz, A. Gardner, C. Gascon, A. Georges, F. Glaw, F.G. Grazziotin, C.P. Groves, G. Haszprunar, P. Havaš, J.M. Hero, M. Hoffmann,...

There have been increasing occurrences of what has become known as “taxonomic terrorism,” an unfortunate effect of the Principle of Priority [in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature]. In science, we generally can and do ignore work that is poorly constructed and poorly published. In taxonomy, this is difficult particularly when other p...

The purpose of this application, under Article 78.2.3 of the Code, is to alleviate confusion caused by the premature publication of the name Kinosternon chimalhuaca Berry, Seidel, & Iverson by Rogner (1996), while the full description was published by the same authors in 1997, which is widely but erroneously accepted as the valid publication date o...

A phylogenetic analysis of partial sequences of 2 mitochondrial genes, NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (ND4) and cytochrome b (cyt b), supports the generic distinction and sister taxon relationship of Platemys and a monophyletic Acanthochelys. Acanthochelys radiolata is the most distinct member of the genus Acanthochelys and is sister to a clade that...

Abstract. The purpose of this application, under Article 23.9.3 of the Code, is toconserve the specific name Podocnemis unifilis Troschel, 1848, for a widely distributedspecies of Amazonian turtle (family PODOCNEMIDIDAE ) of both economic and conser-vation importance, by giving it precedence over its infrequently used senior synonym Podocnemis cayenn...

Effective and targeted conservation action requires detailed information about species, their distribution, systematics and ecology as well as the distribution of threat processes which affect them. Knowledge of reptilian diversity remains surprisingly disparate, and innovative means of gaining rapid insight into the status of reptiles are needed i...

Madagascar, the fourth largest island on Earth, sustains one of the world's highest priority biodiversity hotspots (My-ers et al. 2000) with outstanding species diversity due to 165 million years of isolation (Rabinowitz et al. 1983). The highly unique bio-ecological regions existing throughout the island support a complex pattern of microendemism...

suMMary. – The travancore Tortoise, Indotestudo travancorica (Family Testudinidae) is a medium-sized tortoise (straight carapace length [SCL] up to 331 mm) endemic to the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats in southwestern India. The taxonomy of the genus Indotestudo has recently been revised, and I. travancorica is considered a distinct species....

suMMary. – The travancore Tortoise, Indotestudo travancorica (Family Testudinidae) is a medium-sized tortoise (straight carapace length [SCL] up to 331 mm) endemic to the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats in southwestern India. The taxonomy of the genus Indotestudo has recently been revised, and I. travancorica is considered a distinct species....

Assessing Biodiversity Declines Understanding human impact on biodiversity depends on sound quantitative projection. Pereira et al. (p. 1496 , published online 26 October) review quantitative scenarios that have been developed for four main areas of concern: species extinctions, species abundances and community structure, habitat loss and degradati...

There are currently ca. 317 recognized species of turtles and tortoises in the world. Of those that have been assessed on the IUCN Red List, 63% are considered threatened, and 10% are critically endangered, with ca. 42% of all known turtle species threatened. Without directed strategic conservation planning, a significant portion of turtle diversit...

The big-headed Pantanal swamp turtle, Acanthochelys macrocephala (Family Chelidae), is a medium-sized aquatic turtle (carapace length to 295 mm), endemic to the Pantanal and Chaco ecoregions of Brazil, Bolivia, and northern Paraguay. It has a limited distribution in the upper Río Paraguai drainage and is apparently restricted to the swampy lowlands...

The diversity of all turtles and tortoises (chelonians) in the world that have existed in modern times (since 1500 AD), and currently generally recognized as distinct by specialists in turtle taxonomy and systematics, at this time consists of approximately 333 species, of which 58 are polytypic, with 127 additional recognized subspecies, or 460 tot...

The turtle name Testudo scabra Linnaeus 1758 has variously and confusingly been used in association with nine different currently recognized nominal species in four separate families in both suborders of turtles. The name has not been recognized as valid since the early 1800s and has recently been synonymized as a nomen dubium under primarily two s...

Using ancient DNA sequences of subfossil European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) from Britain, Central and North Europe and accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating for turtle remains from most Swedish sites, we provide evidence for a Holocene range expansion of the pond turtle from the southeastern Balkans into Britain, Central Europe and...

A new subspecies of Chelodina mccordi is described from Timor-Leste (East Timor). The nominate subspecies Chelodina m. mccordi is endemic to the small island of Roti to the southwest of Timor. The new subspecies has a very limited distribution in the area of Lake Iralalaro in Lautém District near the eastern tip of Timor-Leste and is endemic to tha...

We compiled a list of the named terminal taxa for the world's modern turtle fauna that would summarize recent changes in turtle nomenclature. We provide an annotated list of 465 currently recognized modern terminal taxa (319 species plus 146 additional subspecies) in a hierarchical framework. In order to be as objective as possible we strive to unc...

Taxonomy has been defined as "the naming and assignment of organisms to taxa" (Futuyma, 1998) or "the theory and practice of classifying organisms" (Mayr and Ashlock, 1991). Taxonomy is one of the key ele-ments of the study and protection of biodiversity. In disciplines ranging from conservation biology to bioge-ography to community ecology, we cou...

Scientists are racing to discover and describe new species in the face of a global biodiversity crisis. Ironically, in cases of commercially valuable taxa, publishing new species descriptions may inadvertently facilitate their extinctions. These descriptions advertise “novelties” for hobbyists

The painted turtle, Chrysemys picta, is currently recognized as a continentally distributed polytypic species, ranging across North America from southern Canada to extreme northern Mexico. We analyzed variation in the rapidly evolving mitochondrial control region (CR) in 241 turtles from 117 localities across this range to examine whether the paint...

— The painted turtle, Chrysemys picta, is currently recognized as a continentally distributed polytypic species, ranging across North America from southern Canada to extreme northern Mexico. We analyzed variation in the rapidly evolving mitochondrial control region (CR) in 241 turtles from 117 localities across this range to examine whether the pai...

Conventional chromosomal preparations of the Brazilian sidenecked turtle Phrynops hogei indicate the karyotype of this species (diploid number 2n = 58; fundamental number FN = 64) is identical to that reported for other members of the genus. Electron microscopic analysis of whole-cell complements of synaptonemal complexes corroborated the karyotypi...

Phenetic and phylogenetic methods of analysis of allozymic data were used to determine relationships among members of the South American genus Platemys (P. pallidipectoris, P. spixii, P. macrocephala, P. radiolata, and P. platycephala). Two members of the related genus Phrynops (P. gibbus and P. rufipes) were used in the phylogenetic analysis to de...

Longitudinal skeletal growth in appendicular long bones of Caretta caretta resembles the patterns in Pseudemys scripta and Carettochelys insculpta. A metaphyseal cone of cartilage becomes transiently isolated through the formation of a subphyseal plate of calcified cartilage which undergoes early peripheral vascular irruption and ossification. The...

Standard karyotypes are reported for all currently recognized members of the South American genus Platemys. Platemys platycephala (2n = 64) has a karyotype distinct from the other four members of the genus (P. macrocephala, 2n = 48; P. pallidipectoris, P. radiolata, P. spixii 2n = 50). The range in diploid numbers within this genus is greater than...

Described from the upper Rio Mamore, C Bolivia, and the Pantanal region of the upper Rio Paraguai, Brazil. -from Authors

Analysis of a case of presumed hematogenous septic arthritis and osteomyelitis involving the elbow, distal humerus, and proximal radius and ulna in a leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) showed the chondro-osseous response to be similar to the diseases in skeletally immature humans and terrestrial mammals (both spontaneous and experimental). T...

The marine leatherback turtle, Dermochelys coriacea (Testudines, Dermochelyidae), is the largest known extant reptile, reaching weights >680 kg. It has a cosmopolitan oceanic distribution, nesting in tropical climates but migrating widely into colder temperate and boreal waters1. Recent studies have shown that the leatherback has certain well devel...

A new roentgenographic classification (grading) scheme is presented for utilization in studies of skeletal development and maturation in marine mammals, particularly cetaceans. This is based on adequate description of the extent of development and maturation of the various secondary ossification centers, their eventual patterns of fusion, and subse...