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Iberian pond turtle

species of reptile

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionOct 5, 2025
Entity authorityQ582797
Source-derived summary

The Iberian pond turtle (Mauremys leprosa), also known as the Mediterranean pond turtle or Mediterranean turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. The species is endemic to southwestern Europe and northwestern Africa.

Subspecies

Including the nominotypical subspecies, there are two sub-species which are accepted:

M. leprosa leprosa (Schweigger, 1812) – Iberian pond turtle

M. leprosa saharica Schleich, 1996 – Saharan pond turtle

Gallery

Distribution

Mauremys leprosa is native to the western mainland Mediterranean Basin, stretching from the tip of southern France to the northwestern Maghreb (in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya). It is most frequent in the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain).

References

Bibliography

Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Iverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley (2010-12-14). "Turtles of the World 2010 Update: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution and Conservation Status" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2010-12-15.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Iberian pond turtle” is species of reptile. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Iberian, pond and turtle, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA practical orientation to terminology and classification, particularly when read beside dated observations, specimens or technical literature. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1812, 1996, 2010, 2011—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Iberian, pond and turtle is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “species of reptile” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 5, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q582797. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1812, 1996, 2010 and 2011.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
Verify next

Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Iberian pond turtle”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Iberian pond turtle primary sources, Iberian pond turtle archive and Iberian research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Iberian pond turtle”?
  2. Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
  3. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Iberian pond turtle” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.