Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Anyone here good with identifying the various subspecies of Emys orbicularis?

Are there any obvious visible characteristics which distinguish
E o lanzai from E o galloitalica?

Is the plastron of the former always darker?

Batagur? anyone?

thanks i actually just talked to him last week...i think i need someone with reasearch experience in europe

You got me on that one. There are currently people working on formalizing this taxa. There is currently a range of somewhere between 9 and 40 subspecies. The work is being done but I'm sure there will always be controversy with the taxonomy of E. orbicularis.

Maybe Darrell Senneke of the World Chelonian Trust could help you. Or possible Dave Lee of the Tortoise Reserve. You can find an email for these people on their websites.

actually i asked darrell too.
I will try the other person (with whom i ma not acquainted) next.
actually i ahve a bunch of mauremys caspica, leprosa and a few emys orbicularis of questionable origin and which my feeble skills and lack of expericne are daunted by. i am curious because i am interested ina long term project/collection of basically all the "semi terrestrials" and as i obtain them i'd like to seperate them if there are justifiable population differences.
in the US people don't seem to think too much of these turtles but i can't see their fate as much different from that of glyptemys or clemmys or "actinemys" here in the states.
thanks for your suggestion

You got me on that one. There are currently people working on formalizing this taxa. There is currently a range of somewhere between 9 and 40 subspecies. The work is being done but I'm sure there will always be controversy with the taxonomy of E. orbicularis.

Maybe Darrell Senneke of the World Chelonian Trust could help you. Or possible Dave Lee of the Tortoise Reserve. You can find an email for these people on their websites.

You got me on that one. There are currently people working on formalizing this taxa. There is currently a range of somewhere between 9 and 40 subspecies. The work is being done but I'm sure there will always be controversy with the taxonomy of E. orbicularis.

Maybe Darrell Senneke of the World Chelonian Trust could help you. Or possible Dave Lee of the Tortoise Reserve. You can find an email for these people on their websites.

You got me on that one. There are currently people working on formalizing this taxa. There is currently a range of somewhere between 9 and 40 subspecies. The work is being done but I'm sure there will always be controversy with the taxonomy of E. orbicularis.

Maybe Darrell Senneke of the World Chelonian Trust could help you. Or possible Dave Lee of the Tortoise Reserve. You can find an email for these people on their websites.

Try Dr. U. Fritz (fritz(at)snsd.de), he should know....