Morphology of snail-eating turtles (Genus Malayemys) in Northeastern Thailand

Abstract

We investigated species, distribution and some morphological characteristics of snail-eating turtles captured from 19 provinces in Northeastern Thailand except Loei Province. Some morphological characteristics of snail-eating turtle were used to classify the specimens from Northeastern Thailand into 3 species including Malayemys khoratensis, M. subtrijuga and M. macrocephala. Field surveys presented that M. khoratensis is dominant in Northeastern Thailand. It was found above the Mun River (16 provinces), while M. subtrijuga was found only below the Mun River (4 provinces). Moreover, M. macrocephala was found in Nakhon Ratchasima province and Udon Thani province. Two species (M. khoratensis and M. subtrijuga) coexisted in Ubon Ratchathani province, and M. khoratensis and M. macrocephala coexisted in Nakhon Ratchasima and Udon Thani province.