{"id":2874,"date":"2020-01-15T12:14:12","date_gmt":"2020-01-15T12:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moroccoherps.com\/?page_id=2874"},"modified":"2023-02-07T20:07:55","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T20:07:55","slug":"mauremys_leprosa","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.moroccoherps.com\/en\/ficha\/mauremys_leprosa\/","title":{"rendered":"Species page of Mauremys leprosa"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Spanish Terrapin
\nMauremys leprosa<\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(Schweigger, 1812)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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By\u00a0Mario Schweiger<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Updated:\u00a023\/09\/2012<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Taxonomy:\u00a0Chelonii\u00a0|\u00a0Geoemydidae\u00a0|\u00a0Mauremys\u00a0|\u00a0Mauremys leprosa<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Mauremys
Mauremys leprosa saharica. Ouarzazate. Photo: \u00a9 Mario Schweiger.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Range<\/p>\n

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\"\"\u00a0\u00a0M. l. leprosa<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0\u00a0M. l. saharica<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Distribution map of
\nMauremys leprosa<\/span>
\nin Morocco.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Gallery: 31 photos.\u00a0[ENTER]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Phylogenetic frame<\/h2>\n

Mauremys leprosa<\/span>\u00a0was described by Schweigger in 1812 as\u00a0Emys leprosa<\/span>. Synonyms are\u00a0Clemmys sigriz<\/span>\u00a0Michahelles, 1829 (Terra typical [T.t.] South Spain) and\u00a0Emys laticeps<\/span>\u00a0Gray, 1831 (T.t.: \u201csouth Europe\u201d). Out of Europe Gray in 1854 described\u00a0Emys laticeps<\/span>\u00a0from the Gambia River. In 1860 followed\u00a0Emys fuliginosus<\/span>\u00a0and in 1870\u00a0Emys fraseri<\/span> by the same author, both with imprecise Terra typical \u201cNorth Afrika\u201d. 1996 Schleich, from Morocco described 6 subspecies: atlantica <\/span>(Larache),\u00a0erhardi <\/span>(Taza), wernerkaestlei<\/span> (Khenifra),\u00a0marokkensis<\/span> (Tahanaoute),\u00a0saharica<\/span>\u00a0(Fort Bou Jerif, Guelmim) and\u00a0zizi<\/span>\u00a0(Oued Ziz). 1998 the last subspecies,\u00a0Mauremys l. vanmeerhaeghei<\/span>\u00a0from Sidi el Mehadahoui has been described by Bour & Maran.<\/p>\n

(Authors note): I\u00b4m not sure, if\u00a0Emys fraseri<\/span>\u00a0Gray, 1870 is a synonym of\u00a0Mauremys leprosa<\/span>, because Gray 1870 writes: \u201c\u2026\u2026In the British Museum there is a specimen of a young Terrapin brought by Mr. Fraser from North Africa, which is very similar to the above, and has the same black underside of the margin; but its neck has many much narrower streaks, and there is no spot behind the eye or rings round the ear. This specimen appears to indicate the existence of another species, which may be called\u00a0Emys fraseri<\/span>.\u201d All young specimens of\u00a0Mauremys leprosa<\/span>\u00a0in North Africa have this light spot behind the eye and many of them this ring around the tympanum.<\/p>\n

Description<\/h2>\n

A freshwater turtle with distinct yellow to orange stripes on neck and limbs. Carapace olive to brown, mostly with orange ocelli or hieroglyphs. All markings fade with age, on skin and shell.<\/p>\n

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\"Mauremys<\/p>\n

Dorsal view. Ait Ourir. Photo: \u00a9 Mario Schweiger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Females grow larger than males, especially south of the Atlas mountain chain. Lovich et al. (2010) give a maximum of 151mm for females and 129mm for males from the Oued Ksob. For turtles from the Oued Zate the values are 166mm and 122mm and for the Draa river 216mm and 115mm respectively.<\/p>\n

The Plastron is uniform yellowish to olive green, with or without smaller to larger black patches, to uniform black.<\/p>\n

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\"Plastron\u00a0\"Plastron<\/p>\n

Plastron. Right: Ait Ourir. Left: Khenifra. Photos: \u00a9 Mario Schweiger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Most terrapins from the north have a distinct dark horizontal bar through the green iris, while this bar is missing in most specimens south of the Atlas mountain chain. Also many turtles have bluish to blue eyes in the south.<\/p>\n

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\"Mauremys<\/p>\n

Mauremys leprosa saharica<\/span>\u00a0with blue eyes. Ouarzazate. Photo: \u00a9 Mario Schweiger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

These differences induced Schleich 1996 and Bour & Maran 1998 to describe a total of seven subspecies from Morocco. As shown by Fritz et al. 2005 and 2006 these taxonomic splitting was not correct. At the time only the nominate form in NW Morocco and SW Europe and\u00a0Mauremys leprosa saharica<\/span>, south and east of the Atlas mountain chains are valid.<\/p>\n

Additional, in 2011 Schweiger showed, that there is no correlation between the morphological characters, given by Schleich for his subspecies and their geographical distribution. Therefore, the subspecies,\u00a0atlantica<\/span>,\u00a0wernerkaestlei<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0marokkensis<\/span>\u00a0are included into the nominate form now, the subspecies\u00a0vanmeerhaeghei<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0zizi<\/span>\u00a0into\u00a0Mauremys leprosa saharica<\/span>. At the time it is not clear, into which of the two subspecies now accepted,\u00a0Mauremys l. erhardi<\/span>\u00a0has be included. The Terra typica near Taza is situated east of the Moyen Atlas. According to the distribution of\u00a0Mauremys l. saharica<\/span>\u00a0by Fritz et al. (2006),\u00a0erhardi<\/span>\u00a0should belong to this subspecies.<\/p>\n

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\"Mauremys<\/p>\n

Mauremys leprosa saharica<\/span>. Ouarzazate. Photo: \u00a9 Mario Schweiger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Beside\u00a0Emys orbicularis occidentalis<\/span>,\u00a0Mauremys leprosa<\/span>\u00a0is the only freshwater turtle in Morocco. While the former is restricted to small populations in the NW of Morocco and the surroundings of Azrou, the Spanish Terrapin is widespread all over the country. Both species can easily be distinguished by their different coloration and pattern.\u00a0Emys<\/span>\u00a0show a black carapace with small yellow dots and\/or lines. Also the head, neck and limbs have yellow spots and never distinct lines.<\/p>\n

Ecology and habits<\/h2>\n

Mauremys leprosa<\/span>\u00a0is diurnal as well as nocturnal. During sunny days, the turtles spend many hours basking on banks or rocks in rivers, creeks or ditches, sliding into the water at the slightest disturbance. It is hard to observe them from a distance more close than 20 metres. During dark, the turtles might be observed with a flashlight, walking around on the bottom of the waterbodies, searching for food, or resting at the edge of the water close to the surface.<\/p>\n

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\"Mauremys<\/p>\n

Two\u00a0Mauremys leprosa leprosa<\/span>\u00a0basking on a rock. Khenifra. Photo: \u00a9 Mario Schweiger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Egg holes are digged from late afternoon to evening. Females need 30 minutes to one and a half hour to dig the hole, up to 60 mm deep and 100 mm wide. In warmer climates,\u00a0Mauremys<\/span>\u00a0deposits two clutches during May and July, consisting of up to nine eggs in Morocco, while clutches of 13 eggs are known from Portugal. Eggs are 28 \u2013 38 x 16 \u2013 21 mm in size. The incubation period lasts 56 \u2013 108 days, depending on temperature (Keller & Busack, 2001).<\/p>\n

If available, hatchlings and youngs prefer smaller waterbodies than adults. This might be linked with warmer temperatures, more adequate food in small waterbodies, but also protection from the always hungry adults.<\/p>\n

Young and subadults feed mostly on invertebrates, while in adults the food changes more to vegetarian (water plants and algae).<\/p>\n

Distribution, habitat and abundance<\/h2>\n

General distribution:
\nFrom SW France, Spain, Portugal to NW Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, W Libya, not known from Western Sahara, some relict population in S Mauretania and in the A\u00efr mountains in Niger (Kriska, 2001) and in Gambia (?).<\/p>\n

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\"H\u00e1bitat<\/p>\n

Habitat of\u00a0Mauremys leprosa saharica<\/span>. Ouarzazate. Photo: \u00a9 Mario Schweiger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Spanish Terrapin is widespread in Morocco. A large variety of waterbodies are populated, like rivers, creeks, lakes and ditches. Turtles might be found even in brackish and eutrophe waters.<\/p>\n

Mauremys leprosa leprosa<\/span>\u00a0is distributed north and west of the Atlas mountain chains,\u00a0Mauremys l. saharica<\/span>\u00a0south and east of the mountains.<\/p>\n

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\"H\u00e1bitat<\/p>\n

Habitat of\u00a0Mauremys leprosa saharica<\/span>. Meski. Photo: \u00a9 Mario Schweiger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Due to missing data from north east Morocco, the affilation of the specimens from there to one of the subspecies leprosa or saharica is not clear yet. But there are some examples, where the Moulouya river is the border between (sub)species like\u00a0Timon tangitanus<\/span>\/pater<\/span>\u00a0or\u00a0Psammodromus microdactylus<\/span>\/blanci<\/span>. The Moulouya valley is the old connection between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean, before the Strait of Gibraltar was opening. So this valley should have been a strong barrier between (sub)species.<\/p>\n

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\"H\u00e1bitat<\/p>\n

Habitat of\u00a0Mauremys leprosa leprosa<\/span>. Khenifra. Photo: \u00a9 Mario Schweiger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In all populations, known by the author, the abundance is high, with most specimens observed in the night hours. In subsaharian areas, they populate even small waters in oasis, far away from the next creeks or rivers.<\/p>\n

Adults seem to have little to no predators, while hatchlings might be preyed by adults, birds of prey and rodents. Hard to catch in large waterbodies, but more easy during dark, when the terrapins are walking around on the bottom or at the edge of the water.<\/p>\n

Mauremys<\/span>\u00a0is not endangered at the time (Pleguezuelos et al., 2010). IUCN Red List: Vulnerable A2ac+3c<\/p>\n

References<\/h3>\n