NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Amazon Toadhead Turtle [heliostemma]
Mesoclemmys raniceps (Gray, 1856)
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.
Black-lined Toadhead Turtle (Mesoclemmys raniceps) in Bolivia
Vincent A. Vos · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Mesoclemmys raniceps is a side-necked turtle found in the Amazon basin and Orinoco basin.
Little is known about the turtle's life cycle, but there is evidence that the females can lay a clutch of 4-8 eggs several times in the year. Males are usually smaller than females in length. Males can be distinguished from females by the prominent white scales they have on the external border of their skin which cover the tibia. Mesoclemmys raniceps can be identified by the black stripe on each side of their head which extends from the snout through the eyes and ends at the exterior end, the tympani.
Wikipedia contributors, Mesoclemmys raniceps; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:16:13.135364+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Mesoclemmys raniceps (Gray, 1856)
- Name authority
- (Gray, 1856)
- Common name
- Amazon Toadhead Turtle [heliostemma]
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Testudines
- Family
- Chelidae
- Genus
- Mesoclemmys
- 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
- suborderPleurodira Cope, 1864
- superfamilyCheloidea Gray, 1825
- familyChelidae
- genusMesoclemmys
- speciesMesoclemmys raniceps (Gray, 1856)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Mesoclemmys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Dahl’s Toadhead TurtleMesoclemmys dahli (Zangerl & Medem, 1958) | ChelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Brasilianische KrötenkopfschildkröteMesoclemmys perplexa Bour & Zaher, 2005 | ChelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Tuberculate Toadhead TurtleMesoclemmys tuberculata (Luederwaldt, 1926) | ChelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Vanderhaege’s Toadhead TurtleMesoclemmys vanderhaegei (Bour, 1973) | ChelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gibba (Toadhead) TurtleMesoclemmys gibba (Schweigger, 1812) | ChelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Common Toadheaded TurtleMesoclemmys nasuta (Schweigger, 1812) | ChelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Zulia Toadhead TurtleMesoclemmys zuliae (Pritchard & Trebbau, 1984) | ChelidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Hydraspis raniceps Gray, 1856 Gray, 1856 | synonym |
| Mesoclemmys jurutiensis Cunha, Sampaio, Carneiro & Vogt, 2021 Cunha, Sampaio, Carneiro & Vogt, 2021 | synonym |
| Phrynops wermuthi Mertens, 1969 Mertens, 1969 | ambiguous synonym |
| Batrachemys heliostemma Mccord, Joseph-Ouni & Lamar, 2001 Mccord, Joseph-Ouni & Lamar, 2001 | 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=Mesoclemmys&species=raniceps 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:42336. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.