Emys trinacris, 112

Emys trinacris Fritz, Fattizzo, Guicking, Tripepi, Pennisi, Lenk, Joger, and Wink 2005 –
Sicilian Pond Turtle, Testuggine Palustre Siciliana

Dario Ottonello¹, Stefania D’Angelo², Federico Marrone³, Fabrizio Oneto^1,4,
Filippo Spadola⁵, Marco Alberto Luca Zuffi⁶, and Uwe Fritz⁷

¹Centro Studi Bionaturalistici srl, Corso Europa 26, 16132 Genova, Italy [[email protected]];
²WWF Italia, via Po 25/c, 00195 Roma, Italy [[email protected]];
³Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche, Chimiche e Farmaceutiche (STEBICEF),
Università di Palermo,Via Archirafi 18, 90123 Palermo, Italy [[email protected]];
⁴Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra dell’Ambiente e della Vita (DISTAV),
Università di Genova, Corso Europa 26, 16132 Genova, Italy [[email protected]];
⁵Museo della Fauna, Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie,
Polo Universitario SS. Annunziata 98128, Messina, Italy  [[email protected]];
⁶Museum of Natural History, University of Pisa, via Roma 79, 56011 Calci (Pisa), Italy [[email protected]];
⁷Museum of Zoology (Museum für Tierkunde), Senckenberg Dresden,
A. B. Meyer Building, 01109 Dresden, Germany [[email protected]]

Summary. – The Sicilian Pond Turtle, Emys trinacris (family Emydidae), is a small-sized freshwater turtle (straight midline carapace length to 172 mm in females, 156 mm in males), endemic to the island of Sicily in Italy. It appears to be more widespread in the northern and central-western parts of the island, with the exclusion of Monti Peloritani and most of the Madonie area and Monti di Termini Imerese. It is apparently rarer along the southeastern coastal areas, except for some coastal wetlands in the provinces of Trapani, Agrigento, Siracusa, and Ragusa. The species shows an altitudinal distribution range from sea level to about 1250 m a.s.l., with a higher prevalence in coastal and hilly territories, except for the Nebrodi area, where it is quite common in mountainous areas as well. Emys trinacris inhabits coastal and inland wetlands, mountain lakes and ponds, slow-moving river bends, and man-made aquatic environments, both in open areas and in woodlands. The few studied populations appear relatively robust at present, but others appear to be decreasing, and a lack of detailed recent field data prevents sound conclusions from being drawn about its overall status. Indeed, ongoing patterns of habitat loss and alteration, combined with climate change, release of non-native species in the wild, and poaching for the pet trade threaten this species.

Distribution. – Italy (Sicily).

Synonymy. – Emys trinacris Fritz, Fattizzo, Guicking, Tripepi, Pennisi, Lenk, Joger, and Wink 2005; Emys orbicularis trinacris.

Subspecies. – None recognized.

Status. – IUCN 2020 Red List: Data Deficient (DD; assessed 2009); TFTSG Provisional Red List: Least Concern (LC, assessed 2018); CITES: Not Listed.