Hydromedusa tectifera, 113 - Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group

Distribution

Central and northeastern Argentina (Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Entre Ríos, Misiones, Santa Fe, Salta, San Luis, Santiago del Estero), southern Brazil (Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, São Paulo), southeastern Paraguay (Alto Paraná, Itapuá, Guairá), and most of Uruguay.

Distribution of Hydromedusa tectifera in southern South America in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Yellow dots = museum and literature occurrence records of native populations based on Iverson (1992), TTWG (2017, 2021), Sánchez et al. (2019), and authors' more recent data (da silva et al. 2020, and some previously omitted localities from Mañe Garzón and Gil 1961, Cielusinsky et al. 2008, Salles and Silva-Soares 2010, Prigioni et al. 2011, and Guerrero and Agnolin 2016, plus reliable records from EcoRegistros.org and iNaturalist.org); red shading = presumed native historic indigenous range. Distribution based on GIS-defined level 12 HUCs (hydrologic unit compartments) constructed around verified localities and then adding HUCs that connect known point localities in the same watershed or physiographic region, and similar habitats and elevations as verified HUCs (Buhlmann et al. 2009; TTWG 2017, 2021) and adjusted based on authors' data.

Synonymy

Hydromedusa tectifera Cope 1870, Hydromedusa platanensis Gray 1873, Hydromedusa platensis, Platemys antiqua ? Ameghino 1882 (nomen nudum), Platemys fossilis ? Ameghino 1882 (nomen nudum), Platemys laevis ? Ameghino 1882 (nomen nudum), Platemys robusta ? Ameghino 1882 (nomen nudum), Hydromedusa wagleri Günther 1884.

Subspecies

None currently recognized.

Conservation Status

IUCN 2021 Red List: Least Concern (LC) [Not Listed] (TFTSG 1996); TFTSG Provisional Red List: Least Concern (LC; assessed 2011)

Legal Status

CITES: Not Listed; U.S. ESA: Not Listed.

Citation

Alcalde, L., Sánchez, R.M., and Pritchard, P.C.H. 2021. Hydromedusa tectifera Cope 1870 – South American Snake-necked Turtle, Argentine Snake-necked Turtle, Tortuga Cuello de Vibora, Cágado Pescoço de Cobra. In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., van Dijk, P.P., Stanford, C.B., Goode, E.V., Buhlmann, K.A., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs 5(15):113.1–17. doi: 10.3854/crm.5.113.tectifera.v1.2021; www.iucn-tftsg.org/cbftt/.

Author Information

Leandro Alcalde¹, Rocio Maria Sánchez¹, and Peter C.H. Pritchard²