Chinese Yellow Pond Turtle (Mauremys mutica)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 14059802

Population assessment and species delineation of Mauremys mutica in Southern China

Mauremys mutica are native to Taiwan, China and Vietnam, with a subspecies found in the Ryuku Island of Japan.  Little is known about their natural ecology and current population satus.  The past year we have travelled to Hunan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu and Hainan Provinces to better understand current distributions and population status.  We found that the southern type is extremely rare in the wild.  The southern type is only found in Hainan, Guangxi and Vietnam.  We have not been able to locate any areas where the vilagers can consistenly collect this species.  The northern type has several areas where local villagers have collected animals recently, but the density is so low, that it collecting enough individuals could take years.Our focus is now on reintroductions.

 

Our search has resulted in over 40 known locality samples to be collected, this is the most known locality samples for this species and these will be used to determine taxonomic status and to assess population structure.