Podocnemis
Genus of turtles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Podocnemis is a genus of aquatic turtles, commonly known as South American river turtles, in the family Podocnemididae. The genus consists of six extant species occurring in tropical South America.[1] Four additional species are known only from fossils. These turtles have pig-like noses but are not closely related to the pig-nosed turtle.
| Podocnemis Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| |
| Podocnemis unifilis, yellow-spotted river turtle | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Pleurodira |
| Family: | Podocnemididae |
| Subfamily: | Podocnemidinae |
| Genus: | Podocnemis Wagler, 1830 |
| Species | |
|
6 species, see text | |
Species
These six species are extant.[1]
- Podocnemis erythrocephala (Spix, 1824) – red-headed Amazon River turtle
- Podocnemis expansa (Schweigger, 1812) – Arrau turtle
- Podocnemis lewyana A.H.A. Duméril, 1852 – Magdalena River turtle
- Podocnemis sextuberculata Cornalia, 1849 – six-tubercled Amazon River turtle
- Podocnemis unifilis Troschel, 1848 – yellow-spotted river turtle, yellow-headed sideneck[2]
- Podocnemis vogli L. Müller, 1935 – savanna side-necked turtle
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Podocnemis.
Fossil species
The following four species are extinct, all from Neogene deposits in South America:
- Podocnemis bassleri †
- Podocnemis medemi †[3]
- Podocnemis pritchardi †[3]
- Podocnemis tatacoensis †Cadena & Vanegas, 2023.[4]
The Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) species "Podocnemis" parva Haas, 1978, based on remains from the West Bank, is now assigned to Algorachelus, as A. parvus.[5]