Abstract Background Chinese soft-shell turtle ( Pelodiscus sinensis ) is an important commercial species for their high nutritional value and unique taste, but it has been a vulnerable due to habitat loss. In this study, homologous juvenile turtles were allocated lake, pond paddy field investigate the effects on turtles. Results The growth, morphology gut microbial communities monitored during ...

Artificial incubation of eggs and the release hatchlings into wild is a common conservation intervention designed to augment threatened turtle populations. We investigate range temperatures establish an optimal temperature for maximum hatching success western saw-shelled (Myuchelys bellii) eggs. report on influence duration describe two experimental methods which, same (27°C), resulted in 77% 9...

OBJECTIVE To describe a coelioscopic-assisted prefemoral oophorectomy technique for use in chelonians. DESIGN Descriptive report. ANIMALS 11 adult female turtles (6 red-eared sliders, 2 box turtles, 1 painted turtle, 1 four-eyed turtle, and 1 Chinese red-necked pond turtle). Five turtles required oophorectomy because of reproductive tract disease; the remaining 6 underwent elective oophorec...

– Turtle carapaces clearly function as antipredator adaptations, but their varied structure has rarely been matched to differential predation pressure in nature. In addition, the role of antipredator behaviors, and how they interact with morphological defenses in turtles, is poorly understood. Here we show that a small turtle, Pelusios subniger, is found predominately in pools and watercourses ...

Flexible, or soft-shelled, eggs are almost unknown in the fossil record, leaving large gaps in our knowledge of the reproductive biology of many tetrapod clades. Here, we report two flexible-shelled eggs of the hyphalosaurid choristodere Hyphalosaurus baitaigouensis from the Early Cretaceous of China, one containing an embryo and the second associated with a neonate. Choristoderes are an enigma...

A drop in egg production associated with loss of pigment and soft-shelled eggs was experienced on a farm in the Western Cape. Investigations revealed high levels of antibodies against adenovirus 127, the causative agent of egg drop syndrome (EDS) in chickens which were not vaccinated against EDS. A cytopathic agent was subsequently isolated in chicken embryo liver cell cultures and identified a...