Deirochelys

Deirochelys
Temporal range: Miocene - Recent
Chicken turtle (D. reticularia) basking
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
Family: Emydidae
Subfamily: Deirochelyinae
Genus: Deirochelys
Agassiz, 1857
Type species
Deirochelys reticularia
Latreille, 1801
Species[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Dirochelys Baur, 1890 (ex errore)
  • Dierochelys Löding, 1922 (ex errore)

Deirochelys is a genus of freshwater turtle in the family Emydidae, the pond and marsh turtles. It contains one extant species, the chicken turtle (Deirochelys reticularia), which is native to the southeastern United States. A second extinct member, Deirochelys carri, is known from a fossil found in Alachua County, Florida.[3] The genus was first described by Louis Agassiz in 1857,[4] and its name is derived from the Ancient Greek words for "neck" (deirḗ) and "tortoise" (khélūs), referring to the particularly long necks of these turtles.[5]

  1. ^ "Deirochelys". Mindat.org. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
  2. ^ Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 179–180. doi:10.3897/vz.57.e30895. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  3. ^ Jackson, Dale R. (1978). "Evolution and fossil record of the chicken turtle Deirochelys, with a re-evaluation of the genus". Tulane Studies in Zoology and Botany. 20. New Orleans, Louisiana: Tulane University: 43. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  4. ^ Agassiz, Louis (1857). Contributions to the natural history of the United States of America. Vol. 1. Boston, Massachusetts: Little, Brown and Company. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.12644. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  5. ^ "Taxonomy chapter for Turtle, eastern chicken (030064)". BOVA booklet. Virginia Fish and Wildlife Information Service. Retrieved 2022-04-24.