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Is the European "pond" turtle Emys orbicularis strictly aquatic and carnivorous?

Is the European "pond" turtle Emys orbicularis strictly aquatic and carnivorous? Is the European “pond” turtle Emys orbicularis strictly aquatic and carnivorous? Gentile Francesco Ficetola, Fiorenza De Bernardi In their recent, straightforward overview of the evolution of Emydid Turtles, Stephens and Wiens (2003) treat Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) as a strictly “aquatic” and “carnivorous” turtle. This interpretation directly draws from the current point of view about the ecology of E. orbicularis . Interestingly, E. orbicularis is the only species within the subfamily Emydinae considered to be both strictly aquatic and car- nivorous. As a consequence, within emydid tur- tles, two simultaneous changes in diet and habi- tat have been invoked in the evolution of E. or- bicularis : the recent ancestors of E. orbicularis were likely omnivore and semi-terrestrial (habi- tat and dietary generalist), thus it has been hy- pothesized that E. orbicularis evolved a more specialised ecology, becoming strictly carniv- orous and aquatic, and thus a habitat and di- etary specialist (Stephens and Wiens, 2003). It is worth noting that, following this reconstruc- tion, E. orbicularis is the only taxon (out of 64 analysed by Stephens and Wiens) in which a si- multaneous change in habitat and diet seems to have occurred. However, evidences from recent studies sug- gest http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Amphibia-Reptilia Brill

Is the European "pond" turtle Emys orbicularis strictly aquatic and carnivorous?

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References (23)

Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0173-5373
eISSN
1568-5381
DOI
10.1163/156853806778190079
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Is the European “pond” turtle Emys orbicularis strictly aquatic and carnivorous? Gentile Francesco Ficetola, Fiorenza De Bernardi In their recent, straightforward overview of the evolution of Emydid Turtles, Stephens and Wiens (2003) treat Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) as a strictly “aquatic” and “carnivorous” turtle. This interpretation directly draws from the current point of view about the ecology of E. orbicularis . Interestingly, E. orbicularis is the only species within the subfamily Emydinae considered to be both strictly aquatic and car- nivorous. As a consequence, within emydid tur- tles, two simultaneous changes in diet and habi- tat have been invoked in the evolution of E. or- bicularis : the recent ancestors of E. orbicularis were likely omnivore and semi-terrestrial (habi- tat and dietary generalist), thus it has been hy- pothesized that E. orbicularis evolved a more specialised ecology, becoming strictly carniv- orous and aquatic, and thus a habitat and di- etary specialist (Stephens and Wiens, 2003). It is worth noting that, following this reconstruc- tion, E. orbicularis is the only taxon (out of 64 analysed by Stephens and Wiens) in which a si- multaneous change in habitat and diet seems to have occurred. However, evidences from recent studies sug- gest

Journal

Amphibia-ReptiliaBrill

Published: Jan 1, 2006

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