NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Big-headed Reeves’ turtle [megalocephala]
Mauremys reevesii (Gray, 1831)
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.
Mauremys reevesii. Male individual of the introduced Chinese pond turtle from the Albergaria Planalto in New Town Baucau, Baucau District.
Mark O’Shea · CC BY 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Mauremys reevesii, commonly known as the Chinese pond turtle, the Chinese three-keeled pond turtle, or Reeves' turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae, a family which was formerly called Bataguridae. The species is native to East Asia.
Alongside the Chinese softshell turtle, it is one of the two most commonly found species used for divination that have been recovered from Shang dynasty sites.
Wikipedia contributors, Chinese pond turtle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:18:05.399075+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Mauremys reevesii (Gray, 1831)
- Name authority
- (Gray, 1831)
- Common name
- Big-headed Reeves’ turtle [megalocephala]
- 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 reevesii (Gray, 1831)
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 |
| Yellowpond TurtleMauremys mutica (Cantor, 1842) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Damonia unicolor Gray, 1873 Gray, 1873 | synonym |
| Emys reevesii Gray, 1831 Gray, 1831 | synonym |
| Emys japonica Duméril & Duméril, 1851 Duméril & Duméril, 1851 | synonym |
| Geoclemys grangeri Schmidt, 1925 Schmidt, 1925 | synonym |
| Geoclemys paracaretta Chang, 1929 Chang, 1929 | synonym |
| Chinemys megalocephala Fang, 1934 Fang, 1934 | synonym |
| Emys vulgaris picta Schlegel, 1840 Schlegel, 1840 | synonym |
| Mauremys pritchardi Mccord, 1997 Mccord, 1997 | ambiguous 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=reevesii 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.
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:3YFWL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.