The Yellow pond turtle (Mauremys mutica), is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of turtle

Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...

 in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Geoemydidae

Geoemydidae

Geoemydidae is the largest and most diverse family in the order Testudines with about 70 species. It includes the Eurasian pond and river turtles and Neotropical wood turtles.-Characteristics:...

 (formerly Bataguridae). It is found in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 (Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Yunnan etc.), Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 (introduced widely, and naturally in the Ryukyu archipelago), Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, and northern and central Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 and possibly adjacent Laos

Laos

Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

.

It is a parent of several hybrid Asian pond turtles that were described as new species. "Fujian pond turtle

Fujian Pond Turtle

The Fujian Pond Turtle is a possibly also naturally occurring intergeneric hybrid turtle in the Geoemydidae family produced in larger numbers by Chinese turtle farms as a "copy" of the Golden Coin Turtle Cuora trifasciata. It appears to occur in China and Vietnam...

s" ("Mauremys" iversoni) are hybrid specimens mainly produced in Chinese turtle farms but possibly occasionally occurring in the wild as well, usually from matings between female Asian Yellow Pond Turtles and Golden coin turtle (Cuora trifasciata) males. The supposed "Mauremys" pritchardi

Mauremys pritchardi

Mauremys pritchardi is an intergeneric hybrid turtle in the Geoemydidae family. It was described to be from Myanmar and has been found in the wild in China and Japan and is produced to some extent in Chinese turtle farms...

are wild and captive-bred hybrids between the present species and the Chinese pond turtle

Chinese Pond Turtle

The Chinese pond turtle, Reeves' turtle or Chinese three-keeled pond turtle is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae . It is found in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. This specific turtle is semi-aquatic so it loves to bask in the sun on rocks or logs and can often be found leaving water to...

 (Chinemys reevesi).

One subspecies is currently recognized:

• Mauremys mutica kami (Yasukawa et al. 1996) – Ryukyu Archipelago of Japan
  Japan
  Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
  
  .

Recent genetic studies have shown that further subspecies might exist, especially in Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 and on Hainan

Hainan

Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name...

.

These turtles are being threatened by unsustainable hunting for food and as pets; they are regularly available in Asian markets. Also, they are killed for use in folk medicine

Folk medicine

-Description:Refers to healing practices and ideas of body physiology and health preservation known to a limited segment of the population in a culture, transmitted informally as general knowledge, and practiced or applied by anyone in the culture having prior experience.All cultures and societies...

. The IUCN considers M. mutica an endangered species

Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

.

External links

• http://www.asianturtlenetwork.org/field_guide/field_guide_intro.htm