Ronald & Ronny Bakowskie species involved here. Even the stress associated with a transfer to the aquaterrarium of our Phrynops geoffroanus and the unfamiliar environment did not distract our Phrynops hilarii male from copulating. The result is a litter of accidental, albeit very pretty, hybrids between these two species of South American side-necked turtles. Acknowledgements We would like to thank Bernd Wolff (Lingenfeld) for encouraging us to write down this report. We furthermore thank Andreas S. Hennig (Leipzig) for his critical review of the manuscript. Particular thanks are due to Stephan Böhm (Vienna) for the numerous interesting discussions and for making his photographs available to us. References Böhm, S. (2008): Considerations regarding a near-natural Husbandry of the Tuberose Sidenecked Turtle, Phrynops tuberosus (Peters, 1870). – Radiata, Lingenfeld, 17 (3): 45-54. Fritz, U. & M. Baur (1995): Schildkröten-Hybriden 1. Halswender-Schildkröten (Pleurodira). – Herpetofauna, Weinstadt, 17 (94): 28-34. Fig. 5. Phrynops hilarii, portrait of the female. Grychta, U. & R. Grychta (1995): Phrynops geoffroanus (Schweigger, 1812) – Haltung und Zucht der Dunklen Krötenkopfschildkröte. – Sauria, Berlin, 17 (1): 11-14. Vetter, H. (2005): Turtles of the World Vol. 3. Central and South America. – Frankfurt am Main/Rodgau (Edition Chimaira/Verlag ASC), 128 pp. All photographs: Ronny Bakowskie. Authors Ronald Bakowskie Parkstraße 12 06896 Braunsdorf Germany Ronny Bakowskie Topasstraße 46 04319 Leipzig Germany E-Mail: Bakowskie@web.de Fig. 4. Phrynops geoffroanus, portrait of a juvenile. 72 RADIATA 17 (3), 2008
Minutes of the Discussions Minutes of the Discussions held at the Specialist Workshop “South American Side-necked Turtles” on 02.06.2007 Subject: Mesoclemmys gibba It appears that this species is variable with regard to its colouration: there are reports of both black and greenish specimens. The reproductive output is one clutch per year. According to various observations, a clutch comprises two eggs, three oval eggs, or even more eggs. Mesoclemmys gibba was found in northern French Guiana in very muddy, small bodies of water during the dry season; the water was only 8 cm, but the mud below 80 cm deep. Fig. 2. The both keepers of the minutes. Fig. 1. Some participants of the specialist workshop. Subject: Bufocephala vanderhaegei This species is certain to produce larger clutches (of round, ball-shaped eggs) than Mesoclemmys gibba. Specimens were discovered within their distribution range on offer at native Indian markets. Bufocephala vanderhaegei was observed in a large lake situated in open pastureland. Subject: The Genus Batrachemys Batrachemys zuliae was found living in small rivulets in pastures. Localities for Batrachemys raniceps and Batrachemys nasuta are bodies of water situated in forests. Surveys conducted in Venezuela revealed specimens of this genus living in small ponds in forests, along rivers, and in small side arms and adjacent pools. The large head is not an adaptation to feeding on mollusks; in fact the species of Batrachemys are very skilled predators of fish. RADIATA 17 (3), 2008 73
