Mauremys rivulata

Aidek, Ahmad E., Saad, Adib, Jablonski, Daniel, Esterbauer, Hans & Fritz, Uwe, 2024, Turtles and tortoises of Syria: Diversity, distribution, and conservation, Zootaxa 5506 (2), pp. 151-193 : 166-167

Mauremys rivulata (Valenciennes in Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1833)

Western Caspian Turtle , Balkan Terrapin ( Fig. 14 )

IUCN Red List Category: Not evaluated (NE)

Type locality: Restricted to Modon, Morée [Peloponnese, Greece] by Bory de Saint-Vincent (1836) and emended to “Umgebung von Modon, Morea [environs of Modon, Peloponnese], Griechenland ” [ Greece] by Mertens & Müller (1928).

Type specimens: Six syntypes in the Muséum National d’Historie Naturelle, Paris, MNHN 1930 , 1930 A, 4094, 4095, 9491, and 9492. MNHN 1930 listed as holotype by Fritz & Wischuf (1997) .

Chorotype: Eastern-Mediterranean.

First record for Syria: Aleppo, Nahr Al-Dhahab, Sabkhat Al-Jabboul ( Siebenrock 1913).

Literature data: Aleppo, Nahr Al-Dhahab, Sabkhat Al-Jabboul ( Siebenrock 1913), Utaibeh ( Boulenger 1923), Masil Al-Fawwar, Al-Ka’b, Mas’ada, N Al-Qunaitra, SW Jubata Al-Khashab, Arnah ( Esterbauer 1985a, 1985b, 1992, 2022), Golan ( Sivan & Werner 1992), Aleppo, Nahr Qweiq, Nahr Al-Dhahab, Oasis of Damascus, Housh Al-Admal (= Hosch-Odmol), Utaibeh Lake, Yarmouk River, Mzeirib Lake ( Fritz & Wischuf 1997), Ein Taqa, Mazraet Mardido, Orontes River near Jourine, 4 km NE Masyaf (= Mesiaf; Vamberger et al. 2014, 2017).

Museum specimens: Homs ( NHMUK 1971.1861), Aleppo ( NMB 8297, NMW 2201:1, 2212:1, 29656:1–2, MNHN 5834A), Nahr Al-Dhahab (some of them putative hybrids: NMW 29659:1–6, 29660:1–10), Nahr Qweiq ( NMW 1741:1, 1746:1, 15082:1–2, 15084:1–3, 15098:1–3, 29655:1–5, 29657:1–3, 29658:1–4), Naseeb ( NMW 18881:1–2), Housh Al-Admal ( SMF 75481), Mzeirib Lake ( SMF 75487, 75489), Utaibeh ( NHMUK 1909.4.20.1– 6), Yarmouk River ( NHMUK 1864.8.23.156).

Citizen science records: Al-Qatriyeh, Az-Zubar, Latakia, Psnada, Qismeen, 4 km N Tartous, (iNaturalist 2023), Homs, Hamah (observation.org 2023).

Recent records: Al-Alani, Al-Bassah, Al-Nawras Beach, Bhalu, Daraa, Hamah, Helfaya, Homs, Jisr ech-Choghur, Jourin, Latakia, Nahr Al-Kabir Al-Shemali, Nahr Qweiq (Aleppo), Sadd Al-Kafat, Tartous, Um et-Toyour, Ya’four, Zakia.

Distribution in Syria: Widespread and abundant. Its distribution in Syria extends from Aleppo and the Orontes Basin over the coastal region to the surroundings of Damascus and the southern region in Daraa and Golan ( Fig. 15 ). In the Sabkhat Al-Jabboul, M. rivulata became extinct more than fifty years ago after the drying up of Nahr Al-Dhahab. According to morphology, some Mauremys in the Nahr Al-Dahab showed traits of M. caspica , although they resembled M. rivulata in gross morphology ( Fritz & Wischuf 1997).

Remarks: Based on morphology, Fritz & Wischuf (1997) reported a few Mauremys with intermediate traits between M. caspica and M. rivulata from the Nahr Al-Dhahab (“Nahr ed Deheb”) in Syria (voucher specimens in the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, NMW 29659:1–6, 29660:1–10). This population is now extinct.

GBIF contains 349 putative records for Syria. However, only 10 of these are located within Syria; the other records lie in Türkiye.

Figures

FIGURE 14. Balkan terrapins, Mauremys rivulata. (A) Al-Alani, upper Orontes (photo: H. Baniasi); (B) Masil Al-Fawwar, southwestern Syria (photo: Hans Esterbauer); (C) SaddAl-Kafat, southeast Hamah (photo: Ehab Jbr); (D) Bhalu, Nahr Al-Qash, east of Latakia (photo: Basel Barakat).

FIGURE 15. Records of Mauremys rivulata in Syria. Black circles: previous records, blue circles: recently confirmed previous records, red circles: new records.