Citation: Midtgaard, Rune. RepFocus - A Survey of the Reptiles of the World. (www.repfocus.dk).
Latest update:
July 4th, 2026.
 
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Genus
Emys
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European Pond Turtles
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Europäische Sumpfschildkröten
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Europæiske Sumpskildpadder
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1806 |  |
Emys Dumeril (type species: Testudo europaea Schneider 1783) |
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1814 | |
Hydrone Rafinesque (type species: Testudo orbicularis Linnaeus 1758; syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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1832 | |
Emyda Rafinesque [substitute name for Emys Dumeril 1806] (syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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1844 | |
Lutremys Gray (type species: Testudo europaea Schneider 1783; syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
Contents:
2 species, of which 1 (50.0%) is endemic.
Endemism: 0%  100%
Remarks:
Spinks, Thomson, McCartney-Melstad & Shaffer (2016) suggested to include the genera
Actinemys and
Emydoidea in
Emys, thus returning to a previously used taxonomy.
Distribution:
C. and S. Europe, N. Africa, Middle East, C. Asia.
Reported from:
Albania,
Algeria,
Armenia,
Austria,
Azerbaijan,
Belarus,
Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Bulgaria,
Croatia,
France
(incl.
Corsica),
Georgia,
Germany,
Greece
(mainland,
Aegean Islands
[Dodecanese Islands
(Kos),
North Aegean Islands
(Lemnos,
Lesbos,
Samos,
Samothrace,
Thassos)],
Euboea,
Ionian Islands
[Cephalonia,
Corfu,
Lefkada,
Meganisi,
Zakynthos],
Peloponnese),
Hungary,
Iran,
Italy
(incl.
Sicily),
Kazakhstan,
Latvia,
Lithuania,
Moldova,
Montenegro,
Morocco,
North Macedonia,
Poland,
Portugal,
Romania,
Russia,
Serbia,
Slovakia,
Slovenia,
Spain,
Switzerland,
Syria,
Tunisia,
Turkey
(incl.
European Turkey),
Turkmenistan,
Ukraine
(incl.
Crimea).
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Emys orbicularis
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Common European Pond Turtle, European Pond Terrapin
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Gewöhnliche Europäische Sumpfschildkröte
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Almindelig Europæisk Sumpskildpadde
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1758 | |
Testudo orbicularis Linnaeus |
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Hydrone orbicularis Rafinesque 1814 |
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Emys orbicularis Blanford 1876 |
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1758 | |
Testudo lutaria Linnaeus (syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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Emydes lutaria Brongniart 1805 |
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Emys lutaria Schweigger 1812 |
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Clemmys lutaria Fitzinger 1835 |
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Cistudo lutaria Strauch 1862 |
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1764 | |
Testudo terrestris Garsault (unavailable; syn. Dubois & Bour 2010) |
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1783 | |
Testudo europaea Schneider (syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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Emys europaea Schweigger 1812 |
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Terrapene europaea Bell 1826 |
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Cistuda europaea Gray 1831 |
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Lutremys europaea Gray 1856 |
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1794 | |
Testudo pulchella Schoepff (syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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Emys pulchella Merrem 1820 |
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1831 | |
Emys europaea var. iberica Eichwald |
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Emys orbicularis iberica Fritz 1998 |
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1831 | |
Emys europaea var. persica Eichwald |
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Emys orbicularis persica Fritz 1998 |
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1832 | |
Cistuda hellenica Valenciennes in Bibron & Bory |
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Emys orbicularis var. hellenica Kovatscheff 1903 |
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1833 | |
Emys antiquorum Valenciennes in Bory de Saint-Vincent & al. (syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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1835 | |
Emys hofmanni Fitzinger [substitute name for Cistuda hellenica Valenciennes 1832] (syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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1835 | |
Emys turfa Meyer (syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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1841 | |
Emys lutaria var. borealis Nilsson (syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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1866 | |
Cistudo anhaltina Giebel (syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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1875 | |
Emys orbicularis var. hoffmanni Schreiber [not Emys hofmanni Fitzinger 1835] (syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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1890 | |
Emys lutaria taurica Mehnert (syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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1897 | |
Emys europaea var. concolor Dürigen (syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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1897 | |
Emys europaea var. maculosa Dürigen (syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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1897 | |
Emys europaea var. punctata Dürigen (syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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1897 | |
Emys europaea var. sparsa Dürigen (syn. Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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1897 | |
Emys orbicularis var. atra Werner |
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1915 | |
Emys orbicularis aralensis Nikolsky |
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1989 | |
Emys orbicularis luteofusca Fritz |
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1993 | |
Emys orbicularis fritzjuergenobsti Fritz |
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1993 | |
Emys orbicularis occidentalis Fritz |
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1994 | |
Emys orbicularis colchica Fritz |
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1994 | |
Emys orbicularis kurae Fritz |
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1994 | |
Emys orbicularis orientalis Fritz |
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1995 | |
Emys orbicularis capolongoi Fritz |
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1995 | |
Emys orbicularis galloitalica Fritz |
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1995 | |
Emys orbicularis lanzai Fritz |
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1996 | |
Emys orbicularis hispanica Fritz, Keller & Budde |
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1998 | |
Emys orbicularis eiselti Fritz, Baran, Budak & Amthauer |
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2004 | |
Emys orbicularis ingauna Jesu, Piombo, Salvidio, Lamagni, Ortale & Genta |
Other common names:
capolongoi: Sardinian Pond Turtle
colchica: Colchis Pond Turtle
eiselti: Eiselt's Pond Turtle
galloitalica: Franco-Italian Pond Turtle
hellenica: Hellenic Pond Turtle
hispanica: Spanish Pond Turtle
iberica: Kura Valley Pond Turtle
ingauna: Ligurian Pond Turtle
lanzai: Corsican Pond Turtle
luteofusca: Central Turkey Pond Turtle
obsti: Obst's Pond Turtle
occidentalis: Magreb Pond Turtle
orbicularis: Common European Pond Turtle
persica: Eastern Pond Turtle
Remarks:
Records of orbicularis from Sicily refer to trinacris (Fritz, Fattizzo, Guicking, Tripepi, Pennisi, Lenk, Joger, & Wink 2005).
Although known from fossil records in Sardinia, the species may have become extinct, and the present population could have been established as a later introduction
by prehistoric settlers (Pous, Speybroeck, Bogaerts, Pasmans & Beukema 2012; Rhodin, Iverson, Bour, Fritz, Georges, Shaffer & Dijk 2017).
The Corsican population may also have been introduced prehistorically (Rhodin, Iverson, Bour, Fritz, Georges, Shaffer & Dijk 2017).
Extinct in (*=reintroduced):
Belgium,
Czech Republic*,
Denmark*,
Estonia,
Israel,
Italy
(Sardinia*[?]),
Luxembourg,
Netherlands*,
Switzerland*.
Introduced to:
Gibraltar,
Spain
(Balearic Islands
[Mallorca,
Minorca],
United Kingdom
(England,
Isle of Wight).
Distribution:
Albania,
Algeria,
Armenia,
Austria,
Azerbaijan,
Belarus,
Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Bulgaria,
Croatia,
France
(incl.
Corsica),
Georgia,
Germany,
Greece
(mainland,
Aegean Islands
[Dodecanese Islands
(Kos),
North Aegean Islands
(Lemnos,
Lesbos,
Samos,
Samothrace,
Thassos)],
Euboea,
Ionian Islands
[Cephalonia,
Corfu,
Lefkada,
Meganisi,
Zakynthos],
Peloponnese),
Hungary,
Iran,
Italy,
Kazakhstan,
Latvia,
Lithuania,
Moldova,
Montenegro,
Morocco,
North Macedonia,
Poland,
Portugal,
Romania,
Russia,
Serbia,
Slovakia,
Slovenia,
Spain,
Syria,
Tunisia,
Turkey
(incl.
European Turkey),
Turkmenistan,
Ukraine
(incl.
Crimea).
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Emys orbicularis
© Rune Midtgaard
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Emys trinacris
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Sicilian Pond Turtle
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Sizilianische Sumpfschildkröte
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Siciliansk Sumpskildpadde
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2005 | |
Emys trinacris Fritz, Fattizzo, Guicking, Tripepi, Pennisi, Lenk, Joger, & Wink |
Remarks:
Some authors have doubted the validity of trinacris, at least as a separate species, and placed it in the synonymy of orbicularis
(e.g., Speybroeck & Crochet 2007; Sindaco & Jeremchenko 2008; Speybroeck, Beukema & Crochet 2010).
Others have treated it as a valid species (e.g., Bickham, Iverson, Parham, Philippen, Rhodin, Shaffer, Spinks & van Dijk 2007).
Vamberger, Stuckas, Sacco, D'Angelo, Arculeo, Cheylan, Corti, Valvo, Marrone, Wink & Fritz (2015) presented evidence supporting its validity.
Earlier records of orbicularis from Sicily refer to trinacris, if considered valid
(Fritz, Fattizzo, Guicking, Tripepi, Pennisi, Lenk, Joger, & Wink 2005).
Also reported from the Italian mainland, but the status of these records is uncertain as they may represent introduced turtles.
They are herein provisionally regarded as such.
Distribution:
Italy
(Sicily).
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