Japanese Pond Turtle

Open encyclopedia reference

The Japanese pond turtle (Mauremys japonica), also called commonly the Japanese pond terrapin and the Japanese pond tortoise, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae endemic to Japan. Its Japanese name is nihon ishigame, Japanese stone turtle. Its population has decreased somewhat due to habitat loss, but it is not yet considered a threatened species.

This species is known to hybridize with the Chinese pond turtle, the Chinese stripe-necked turtle, and the Chinese box turtle (and possibly other Geoemydidae) in captivity. As these three species are much rarer and strongly declining in the wild, this should be avoided.

The Japanese pond turtle is an aquatic species found in many freshwater bodies of water. These include rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps, marshes, and irrigated rice paddies in the flatlands surrounding highlands. Although they can be found on both flatlands and on the slopes of the mountains, studies have shown they are more likely to thrive on the flatlands. This can be essential to understanding the conservation measures needed to protect this near-threatened species.

Wikipedia contributors, Japanese pond turtle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:56:39.140410+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Mauremys japonica (Temminck & Schlegel, 1835)

Name authority

(Temminck & Schlegel, 1835)

Common name

Japanese Pond Turtle

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Testudines

Family

Geoemydidae

Genus

Mauremys

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
9. orderTestudines Batsch, 1788
10. suborderCryptodira
11. superfamilyTestudinoidea
12. familyGeoemydidae
13. genusMauremys
14. speciesMauremys japonica (Temminck & Schlegel, 1835)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Mauremys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 57 records assigned to Geoemydidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Mauremys&species=japonica Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3YFWC. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.