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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Zulia Toadhead Turtle

Mesoclemmys zuliae (Pritchard & Trebbau, 1984)

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.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Mesoclemmys zuliae (Pritchard & Trebbau, 1984)
Name authority
(Pritchard & Trebbau, 1984)
Common name
Zulia Toadhead Turtle
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.

  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. suborderPleurodira Cope, 1864
  11. superfamilyCheloidea Gray, 1825
  12. familyChelidae
  13. genusMesoclemmys
  14. speciesMesoclemmys zuliae (Pritchard & Trebbau, 1984)

Close classified relatives

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

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Dahl’s Toadhead TurtleMesoclemmys dahli (Zangerl & Medem, 1958)ChelidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Brasilianische KrötenkopfschildkröteMesoclemmys perplexa Bour & Zaher, 2005ChelidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Tuberculate Toadhead TurtleMesoclemmys tuberculata (Luederwaldt, 1926)ChelidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Vanderhaege’s Toadhead TurtleMesoclemmys vanderhaegei (Bour, 1973)ChelidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Gibba (Toadhead) TurtleMesoclemmys gibba (Schweigger, 1812)ChelidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Common Toadheaded TurtleMesoclemmys nasuta (Schweigger, 1812)ChelidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Amazon Toadhead Turtle [heliostemma]Mesoclemmys raniceps (Gray, 1856)ChelidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 54 records assigned to Chelidae.

Names & synonyms

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

Recorded nameSource status
Phrynops zuliae Pritchard & Trebbau, 1984 Pritchard & Trebbau, 1984synonym

Documented distribution

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

Venezuela (SW Maracaibo basin)

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=Mesoclemmys&species=zuliae 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:42339. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.