Phrynops hilarii

Phrynops hilarii, also commonly known as Hilaire’s side-necked turtle and Hilaire's toadhead turtle, is a species of freshwater turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is endemic to South America.

Phrynops hilarii
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Pleurodira
Family:	Chelidae
Genus:	Phrynops
Species:	P. hilarii
Binomial name
Phrynops hilarii (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1835)[1]
Synonyms[2][3]
List Platemys hilarii A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1835 Hydraspis hilairii [sic] Gray, 1844 (ex errore) Hydraspis hilarii — Gray, 1856 Spatulemys lasalae Gray, 1872 Hydraspis hilari [sic] Koslowsky, 1898 (ex errore) Hydraspis geoffroyanus hilarii — Siebenrock, 1905 Phrynops hilarii — Stejneger, 1909 Phrynops geoffroana hilarii — L. Müller, 1939 Phrynops geoffroanus hilarii — Wermuth & Mertens, 1961 Hydraspis hilairi [sic] Pritchard, 1967 (ex errore) Phrynops hilari — Goode, 1967

Etymology

The specific name, hilarii, is in honor of French zoologist Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire.^[4]

Geographic range

P. hilarii is found in southern Brazil (Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul), southward and westward into Uruguay and Argentina, and possibly also in Paraguay and Bolivia.^[5]

Habitat

P. hilarii inhabits streams, lakes, and swamps with abundant aquatic vegetation and soft bottoms.^[6]

In Argentina

Description

Phrynops hilarii

P. hilarii has an oval, flattened carapace, with a maximum straight-line length of approximately 40 cm (16 in), weighing approximately 5 kg (11 lb). The carapace is usually dark brown, olive, or gray, with a yellow border. The head is large and flat, gray to olive above, with a pointed snout and two bicolored chin barbels. There is a black band on each side of the head, which comes out of the muzzle and passes over the eyes, going up to the neck. ^[7][6]

Biology

Phrynops hilarii swimming in captivity.

An omnivorous species, P. hilarii mainly feeds on arthropods, with a preference for copepods, ostracods, and hemipterans.^[8] It feeds also on fishes, reptiles, birds, small mammals, and carrion.^{[citation needed]} It is oviparous.^[5] This turtle can live for up to 37 years.^[9]

Females lay eggs twice a year, one clutch between February and May and the other between September and December.^{[citation needed]} They lay from 9 to 14 eggs, with a maximum of 32 eggs and an incubation period of approximately 150 days.^{[citation needed]}