NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Yellowpond Turtle
Mauremys mutica (Cantor, 1842)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The yellow pond turtle (Mauremys mutica), is a medium-sized (to 19.5 cm), semiaquatic turtle in the family Geoemydidae. This species has a characteristic broad yellow stripe extending behind the eye and down the neck; the carapace ranges in color from grayish brown to brown, and the plastron is yellow or orange with black blotches along the outer edges. It is native to East Asia, ranging from central Vietnam and Laos, north through the coastal provinces of south and central China, with insular populations known from Taiwan, Hainan and the Ryukyu Islands. Although populations in the southern Ryukyus are thought to be native, populations in the northern and central Ryukyus, as well as central Japan, are believed to have been introduced as a result of imports from Taiwan.
Wikipedia contributors, Yellow pond turtle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:38:09.475025+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Mauremys mutica (Cantor, 1842)
- Name authority
- (Cantor, 1842)
- Common name
- Yellowpond 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderTestudines Batsch, 1788
- suborderCryptodira
- superfamilyTestudinoidea
- familyGeoemydidae
- genusMauremys
- speciesMauremys mutica (Cantor, 1842)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Mauremys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Annam Leaf TurtleMauremys annamensis (Siebenrock, 1903) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Caspian TurtleMauremys caspica (Gmelin, 1774) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Japanese Pond TurtleMauremys japonica (Temminck & Schlegel, 1835) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Big-headed Reeves’ turtle [megalocephala]Mauremys reevesii (Gray, 1831) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Black-Necked Pond TurtleMauremys nigricans (Gray, 1834) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Western Caspian TurtleMauremys rivulata (Valenciennes, 1833) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chinese Striped-necked TurtleMauremys sinensis (Gray, 1834) | GeoemydidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Annamemys grochovskiae Tien, 1957 Tien, 1957 | synonym |
| Emys muticus Cantor, 1842 Cantor, 1842 | synonym |
| Mauremys iversoni Pritchard & Mccord, 1991 Pritchard & Mccord, 1991 | ambiguous synonym |
| Mauremys pritchardi Mccord, 1997 Mccord, 1997 | ambiguous synonym |
| Clemmys schmackeri Boettger, 1894 Boettger, 1894 | synonym |
| Emys mutica Gray, 1844 Gray, 1844 | synonym |
| Emys nigricans Gray, 1855 Gray, 1855 | ambiguous synonym |
| Clemmys guangxiensis Qin, 1991 Qin, 1991 | ambiguous synonym |
| Annamemys groeliovskiae Battersby, 1960 Battersby, 1960 | synonym |
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.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Mauremys&species=mutica 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:3YFWF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.