Tom,

I am with you 100%!



Can you tell me what characteristics made you feel that yunnanesis was a hybrid of reevesii and pani? I remember awhile back someone else on the asian turtle crisis list suggested yunnanesis was a hybrid of reevesii and something else. I cannot remember the other species they suggested. It seems like so many turtles are collected in the wild in China that sooner or later they come across wild hybrids. We come across them in the US too occasionally. The key to look out for is variability in a "species" that is considered vary rare. Usually this is due to the sexes of the parents being reversed and due to the genetics being expressed in the hatchlings differently. If you have seen the pictures of the serrata hatchlings that show three distinct characteristics from one set of parents it really shows how this can happen. One baby looks completely "serrata" while another looks galbinifrons and the third looks mouhotii. All from the same pair! Just from collecting photographs of some of the new asian taxa I can see more variability than I would in species that was much more common.



Yes I have an article and photos of the Geoemyda japonica x Cuora flavomarginata if you are interested. Remind me in private email and I will try to scan them for you.



The P. mouhotii x G. spengleri is a hybrid that I have heard of but yet I have no photos or documentation other than personal communication with those that have seen them.



If you have any photos of hybrid turtles please let me know. I have a few that I can send you as well. Also, I am interested in seeing any photos you took of the museum specimens of yunnanensis.



Best wishes,

Mike N.

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