Moorish brook turtle

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Moorish brook turtle
Mauremys leprosa.jpg

Moorish brook turtle ( Mauremys leprosa )

Systematics
Order : Turtles (Testudinata)
Subordination : Halsberger tortoises (Cryptodira)
Family : Old World pond turtles (Geoemydidae)
Subfamily : Geoemydinae
Genre : Brook turtles ( Mauremys )
Type : Moorish brook turtle
Scientific name
Mauremys leprosa
( Schweigger , 1812)

The Moorish brook turtle or Spanish water turtle ( Mauremys leprosa ) is a species of the brook turtle ( Mauremys ). It was temporarily regarded as a subspecies of the Caspian brook turtle ( Mauremys caspica ).

description

The back armor of this turtle, up to 25 centimeters long, is intensely olive-green with orange-red, black-lined spots when it is young. In the course of time it becomes dirty olive to a solid brownish yellow. The belly armor of the young is dark brown with a wide yellow border and later becomes yellowish brown. On the neck there are yellow to orange vertical stripes on an olive green background.

Occurrence

She inhabits the Iberian Peninsula , southernmost France and northwest Africa. In North Africa, it is common in at least Morocco , Algeria , Tunisia and Libya . This diurnal species is not very picky about its life requirements, it also lives in pools with brackish water, in irrigation ditches and even in toilets. In addition to animal food, she also consumes vegetable food.

Subspecies

In addition to the nominate form M. l. leprosa (Schweigger, 1812) described several subspecies that are difficult to distinguish :

  • M. l. atlantica ( Schleich , 1996)
  • M. l. erhardi (Schleich, 1996)
  • M. l. morokkensis (Schleich, 1996)
  • M. l. saharica (Schleich, 1996)
  • M. l. vanmeerhaeghei (Bour & Maran , 1998)
  • M. l. wernerkaestlei (Schleich, 1996)
  • M. l. zizi (Schleich, 1996)

protection

The Moorish brook turtle is listed by the European Union in Annexes II and IV of the Habitats Directive and is therefore a species of community interest to be strictly protected, for whose preservation special protected areas must be designated by the member states.

literature

  • Heinz Schröder: amphibians and reptiles in colors. Over 80 newts, frogs, turtles, lizards and snakes in Europe. Otto Maier, Ravensburg 1973, ISBN 3-473-46116-4 .

Web links

Commons : Moorish Brook Turtle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files