Musk turtle
Musk turtles have the following subspecies: Mississippi musk turtle, Sword-backed musk turtles (razor), authoritative musk turtles, flat-backed musk turtles, and striped-necked musk turtles (tiger striped), as well as the Mexican giant musk turtle and Salvinian giant musk turtle of the genus Muscat.
Identification of Musk Turtles:
First of all, let’s introduce these two species:
Flat-back Musk Turtle SternotherusdepressusFlattenedMuskTurtle
Sternotherus minor peltifer Stripe-neck Musk Turtle (Tiger Musk Turtle, because the pattern on its head is black and yellow, like an old tiger)
Background: Musk turtles are particularly common in the southeastern United States. . In the early 1950s, surveys of river turtles in the United States entered the northern Gulf of Mexico. Researchers discovered the morphology of Sternotherus, and they were soon classified as a new species, Sternotherus. .depressus(Tinkle&Webb). This flat-backed musk turtle is similar to other musk turtles (S. minorminor and S. m. peltifer), but is distinguished by their unique head pattern and distinct flat-backed shell. S.depressus rests in the BLACKWARRIOR river ecosystem above the East Falls line. Their resting area is surrounded by the S.m.peltifer area. In the 1970s, reports on the morphological fusion between S. m. peltifer regional and S. depressus regional populations emerged from studies on the upper reaches of the Cahaba River ecosystem and the western populations of the BLACKWARRIOR River ecosystem. Estridge (1970) pointed out that there has been genetic exchange between the populations in the S.m.peltifer region and the S.depressus region. It is for these reasons that Mount (19751981) classified the flatback musk turtle as a secondary species in the S.minor (S.m.depressus) region. Super biological species, other scholars have also made similar inferences. However it was Siedel and Lucchino (1980) who interpreted the white xenozymes and morphological material and proposed that S. depreThe populations in ssus and S. minor regions are genetically exclusive, and the previous theory of "gene introgression" is groundless. Although most academic documents still or continue to use "flatback musk turtle" to refer to all species, academic circles do not determine their evolutionary status. In addition, although morphological and protein analyzes by some scientists may support that S. depressus populations are different from S. minor populations, the genotypes predicted by the research data do not identify flatback musk turtles or other mud turtles. Judgment on the systematic development of geographical populations in S. minor areas.
One possibility that has not yet been eliminated is that the flat-backed shape of the musk turtle is "just" the "existence conformity" of turtles in recent years (perhaps because of its own genes, or occurs to suit the circumstances during the development of existence). Jackson emphasized that Sternothreus had a habit of squeezing into small cracks, and he believed that this defensive behavior was not originally caused by defense. The reason why they are accustomed to drilling into small cracks first stems from the musk turtle's excellent size advantage. More importantly, in the BLACKWARRIOR river ecosystem, the river bed is formed by a large number of stepped rocks. Beginning to use molecular biology technology, scientific researchers found through studies on genetic differences: the flat-backed musk turtle has a strong monophyletic gene group, which is very different from the S. minor population; about S. depressus and S. The results of the genetic separation results of minor populations are no less than the results of genetic separation between populations of different genera of mud turtles.
Rare level: Due to the destruction of its native land, the number of flat-backed musk is quite desolate. Currently, it is only owned by a small number of people in the United States, Europe and Japan; the strip-necked musk is still relatively common in the United States. Yes, it is a relatively easy-to-purchase variety.
Flat-backed Musk: The carapace is wide and flat, the angle between the two bevels of the carapace is greater than 100°, the "balance angle"/"height" ratio is greater than or equal to 8:1, and there is a relatively straight vertebra on the back. Keel, CB flat back often has many radial lines
Strip-necked Musk: The carapace is not very flat, and the angle between the two bevels of the carapace is less than 100°. The "balance angle"/"height" ratio is 5 : 1. There is a vertebral keel and two lateral vertebral keels, and the radial lines on the CB neck are obviously uneven.
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