PARTITION OF THE GENUS CLEMMYS AND RELATED PROBLEMS IN THE TAXONOMY OF THE AQUATIC TESTUDINIDAE

Abstract

On the basis of presence or absence of a muscular apophysis of the basisphenoid in the floor of the recessus scalae tympani, contact of the angular bone with Mackel's cartilage, nature of the joint between the fifth and sixth cervical centra, and pygal pattern, the testudinid subfamily Emydinae as currently recognized may be divided into two subfamilies, the Batagurinae and the Emydinse. The Batagurinae are almost entirely Old‐World, but have one New‐World genus, Rhinoclemys (the New‐World turtles generally referred to Geoemyda). The Emydinae are almost entirely New‐World, with a single Old‐World genus, Emys. The genus Clemmys is emydine and entirely North American: the Old‐World species usually referred to Clemmys are batagurines and are here referredto two genera: Mauremys Gray for caspica, japonica and mutica [‐nigrieans of most authors most of the time], and Sacalia Grey for bealei. A reclassification of the genera of Batagurinae and Emydinae is presented: the classification is based mainly on skull characters. Annamemys and Pseudocadia are considered synonyms of Mauremys mutica.