Apalachicola snapping turtle
{{Short description|Species of turtle}}
{{update|date=October 2019}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Apalachicola snapping turtle
| classification_status = disputed
| image =
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| genus = Macrochelys
| species = apalachicolae
}}
The Apalachicola snapping turtle (Macrochelys apalachicolae) is a proposed species that lives in the Apalachicola River, United States.{{cite web|url=http://news.ufl.edu/2014/04/10/alligator-snapping-turtles/ |title=Study shows 'dinosaurs of the turtle world' at risk in Southeast rivers |author=Stephenie Livingston |date=April 10, 2014 |website=University of Florida News |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413132322/http://news.ufl.edu/2014/04/10/alligator-snapping-turtles/ |archivedate=April 13, 2014 }}{{cite web |url=http://phys.org/news/2014-04-alligator-snapping-turtle-dinosaur-world.html |title=Research splits alligator snapping turtle, 'dinosaur of the turtle world,' into three species |author=Joshua E. Brown |date=April 24, 2014 |website=Phys.org }} The proposed species can as well be found within other panhandle rivers within the states of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.
Taxonomy
It has traditionally been included as part of the widespread species M. temminckii, but an analysis in 2014 recommended treating it as distinct.{{cite web |url=http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2014/04/17/alligator-snapping-turtles-dinosaurs/ |title=Alligator Snapping Turtles, the Dinosaurs of the Turtle World, Are Actually 3 at-Risk Species |author=John R. Platt |date=April 17, 2014 |website=Scientific American }} A study published the following year considered this change unwarranted, and recommended that M. apalachicolae should be considered a junior synonym of M. temminckii,{{cite journal |last1=Folt |first1=B. |last2=Guyer |first2=C. |title=Evaluating recent taxonomic changes for alligator snapping turtles (Testudines: Chelydridae) |journal=Zootaxa |date=16 April 2015 |volume=3947 |issue=3 |pages=447–450 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.3947.3.11 |pmid=25947748}} and this is followed by the Reptile Database,Reptile Database: [http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Macrochelys&species=temminckii Macrochelys temminckii.] Retrieved 26 September 2017. IUCN's Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group,Turtle Taxonomy Working Group [Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., Bour, R. Fritz, U., Georges, A., Shaffer, H.B., and van Dijk, P.P.]. 2017. [http://www.iucn-tftsg.org/checklist/ Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (8th Ed.)]. In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., van Dijk, P.P., Saumure, R.A., Buhlmann, K.A., Pritchard, P.C.H., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs 7:1–292. {{doi|10.3854/crm.7.checklist.atlas.v8.2017}}. and the Committee On Standard English And Scientific Names (Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles).Ronald M. Bonett, Jeff Boundy, Frank T. Burbrink, Brian I. Crother, Kevin de Queiroz, Darrel R. Frost, Richard Highton, John B. Iverson, Elizabeth L. Jockusch, Fred Kraus, Kenneth L. Krysko, Adam D. Leaché, Emily Moriarty Lemmon, Roy W. McDiarmid, Joseph R. Mendelson III, Peter A. Meylan, Tod W. Reeder, Sara Ruane, Michael E. Seidel (2017). [https://ssarherps.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/8th-Ed-2017-Scientific-and-Standard-English-Names.pdf Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding]. 8th edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Herpetological Circular no. 43. {{isbn|978-1-946681-00-3}}
Conservation
The Apalachicola snapping turtles[https://tortue-paradise.com/ Tortue Paradise] and other species of snapping turtle have been described as endangered due to human activity, which is causing the destruction to their natural habitats.{{Cite web |title=Alligator snapping turtle |url=https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/reptiles/freshwater-turtles/alligator-snapping-turtle/ |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Chelydridae}}
{{Taxonbar |from=Q16829155}}
Category:Reptiles of the United States
Category:Reptiles described in 2014
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