Re: identification
Thanks for the info Scott and Chun, My impression was that each subspecies will show individual color/pattern variations (just like the sea turtles). I found it interesting that this fisherman/biologist I spoke to claims that the “integrades” he finds are always in the southern part of the 10,000 islands and that the only “true” ornates he finds are in the northern part of Collier County. It will be nice once he publishes the genetic studies they are working on. Before we begin our surveys in this area, maybe I should visit Florida Bay area to look at the northern mangrove terrapin. Chun’s description seemed to fit what I saw from this guys frozen specimens. Again, thanks for the info…..I will definitely keep you all informed of the surveys and will post photos as I get them. happy holidays! Phil Allman Environmental Specialist Collier County Natural Resources Naples, Florida 34112 —–Original Message—– From: Scott Howard [mailto:howarsc@…] Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2000 8:29 AM To: diamondbackterrapins@egroups.com Subject: [diamondbackterrapins] Re: identification Nice touch Chun… Phil, I have observed ornates in the wild from around Tampa to the central panhandle. I have not seen intergrades in the north direction until about the santa rosa beach area west. There are long stretches of open beach unsuitable for the dbts between bays and estuaries. These divide populations to some extent. In the 10000 islands area you will have to find an isolated but common trait across the area to call a possible subspecies. Mitochondreal DNA might be your best bet on characterizing populations. I will back Chun in his descriptive remarks. I would also like to reiterate the skin colors are extremely variable and striping is only more common in mangrove terrapin populations. Carapaces of comparably aged and sexed individuals in different populations may be the best key. I hope this helps. Scott — In diamondbackterrapins@egroups.com, “Chun-Ming Chew”