Manouria | |
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Manouria emys | |
Scientific classification![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Cryptodira |
Superfamily: | Testudinoidea |
Family: | Testudinidae |
Genus: | Manouria Gray, 1854 |
Type species | |
Manouria fusca Gray, 1854 |
Manouria is agenus oftortoises in thefamilyTestudinidae. The genus was erected byJohn Edward Gray in 1854.
Manouria is either the most basal or second most basal member of the familyTestudinidae (its phylogenetic position is adjacent to that ofGopherus).[1][2] As a result, while tortoises are primarily terrestrial, the genusManouria is a model for the evolutionary transition to terrestriality, as it still has an affinity for aquatic environments, and has retained some ancestral adaptations for an aquatic lifestyle while losing others. TheAsian forest tortoise (Manouria emys) has been observed attempting to feed on submerged food items, albeit unsuccessfully. Additionally, the species grasps food item with its jaws as in aquatic or semiaquatic taxa, as opposed to first making contact with the tongue as with all other tortoise species (with the possible exception ofGopherus).[3]
The following fivespecies are recognized as being valid, two of which are extant,[4] and three of which are extinct:
Image | Common Name | Scientific name | Distribution |
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Asian forest tortoise | Manouria emys(Schlegel &S. Müller, 1844) | Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. | |
![]() | impressed tortoise | Manouria impressa(Günther, 1882) | Myanmar, southern China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Northeast India. |
Nota bene: Abinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other thanManouria.