Revisão realizada pela Dra. Rachel Ann Hauser-Davis

1. The geographical distribution of many Brazilian
freshwater turtles is poorly known, with few references
regarding this subject (Pritchard and Trebbau, 1984;
Iverson, 1992; Vanzolini, 1994). However, considerable
effort has been made to update such data in recent years
(e.g.Bour and Zaher, 2005; Loebmann et al., 2006;
Loebmann, 2008; Molina et al., 2009; Costa et al., 2010).
The coastal region of Brazil is one of the country’s
most disturbed and exploited areas as a result of over
500 years of intense human settlement that followed
Brazil’s discovery by Portuguese sailors (Rocha et al.,
2005). Consequently, the remaining vegetated coastal
strips are undergoing extensive human impact, with
increasing degradation of coastal sand plains, sand
dunes, lakes, swamps and beach habitats (‘restingas’)
along the Brazilian coast (Araújo and Lacerda, 1987;
Araújo, 1991; 2000; Rocha and Bergallo, 1997). Under
such historical pressure, restingas may offer a number
of suitable habitats for the aquatic turtles, which are
found in coastal lakes and swamps. This paper reports
two specimens of Aperema (Rhinoclemmys punctularia)
recently found as the result of a large effort to survey
beaches and associated habitats of the eastern Rio de
Janeiro state coastline. These ecosystems are currently
under tremendous pressure from fire, urbanization and
general eradication, and for this reason our turtle records
are noteworthy and underscore the importance of such
environments.
The ‘Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Marinhos da
Região dos Lagos’ (GEMM-Lagos, the Lagos Region
Study Group on Marine Mammals/ENSP/FIOCRUZ)
regularly patrols beaches in search of strandings along
ca. 250 km of the eastern Rio de Janeiro State coast
between latitudes 21°18’S and 23°S, approximately.
Since 1999, GEMM-Lagos maintains a regional
reporting network and database of sea turtles, seabirds
and marine mammal strandings, which includes
information on both live-stranded and dead, beach-cast
specimens. In addition, reports of diverse ‘stranded’
non-marine animals are also made on a regular basis,
which usually comprises rodents and marsupials, egrets
and passerines, as well as terrestrial, aquatic and semi-
aquatic turtles.
Considering the paucity of information of the reptile
fauna of the eastern coast of Rio de Janeiro, especially
for aquatic and terrestrial turtles, and the need for the
conservation of their habitats, we provide noteworthy
records of two non-marine turtles recently found by
GEMM-Lagos.
One specimen of R. punctularia was observed alive at
Parque Natural Municipal dos Pássaros, Rio das Ostras
municipality (RO), in December 2008 (Figure 1, record
#1). The provenience of this turtle is unknown but the
facility receives only wild reptiles, birds and mammals
donated by the general public as well as specimens
found by City Hall personnel inside RO boundaries.
Herpetology Notes, volume 7: 667-671 (2014) (published online on 12 November 2014)
On the intriguing occurrence of Rhinoclemmys punctularia
(Daudin, 1801) in coastal plains of eastern Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Salvatore Siciliano1,
*, Jailson F. de Moura1
, Davi C. Tavares1,2
, Carlos Eduardo Silva de Amorim1
and Carlos Alexandre R. Matias3,4
1
Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública/FIOCRUZ & Grupo de
Estudos de Mamíferos Marinhos da Região dos Lagos
(GEMM-Lagos), Rua Leopoldo Bulhões, 1.480 – 6º. andar,
sala 611. Manguinhos, 21041-210 Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil
2
Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense – UENF,
Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Recursos
Naturais/CBB – LCA. Av. Alberto Lamego, 2.000 – Parque
Califórnia, 28013-602 Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ Brazil
3
Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro – UFRRJ,
Departamento de Epidemiologia e Saúde Pública – DESP,
Instituto de Veterinária – IV. BR-465, Km 7, 23890-000
Seropédica, RJ Brazil
4
Programa de Pós-graduação em Saúde Pública e Meio
Ambiente, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública/FIOCRUZ.
Rua Leopoldo Bulhões, 1.480 – 3º. andar. Manguinhos,
21041-210 Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil
* Corresponding author e-mail: gemmlagos@gmail.com

2. Salvatore Siciliano et al.668
Photographs were taken at Parque dos Pássaros facilities
(Figure 2). The turtle was released in a RO coastal
lagoon within a few days of its arrival at Parque Natural
Municipal dos Pássaros. Following this first report, on 7
December 2011, a second R. punctularia specimen was
found by locals on the beach of Orla 500, Cabo Frio, in
the early morning (Figure 2, record #2). It was believed
to be a ‘sea turtle’ and several attempts were made
by locals to release the turtle into the sea. As they did
not succeed, the GEMM-Lagos personnel were called
for assistance. On site, we noticed that it was a semi-
aquatic turtle specimen rather than a sea turtle and took
measurements and photographs for our records (Figure
3). The specimen was released in a small lake in the
vicinity of the original capture site. It has been regularly
re-sighted in the area since then. By January 2014 it
weighed 990 grams, with carapace measurements 197
mm long, 140 mm wide, and 70 mm high.
Rhinoclemmys punctularia (Daudin, 1801), popularly
known in Northern Brazil as Aperema, is the only
member of the Geoemydidae in Brazil. The Aperema
inhabits rivers and lakes, has small orange spots on the
dorsal surface of the head and is distributed throughout
South America (Gans, 1980; Ernst and Barbour, 1989).
It is common in coastal regions as far east as Belém,
Pará State, with few reports in Central Amazonia,
between the states of Maranhão and Pará, and a doubtful
record exists from eastern Rio Grande do Norte
(Pritchard and Trebbau, 1984; Ávila-Pires et al., 2010;
Dornas et al., 2011). Although this may be considered
a highly unexpected occurrence, the R. punctularia
Cabo Frio specimen could be living in the nearby Praia
Rasa Reserve, a protected area under jurisdiction of the
Brazilian Navy. This particular site possesses swamps,
marshes and coastal lakes in near-pristine condition,
which can provide shelter to medium sized mammals
and reptiles, such as capybaras and caimans (SS,
personal observation). In fact, range extensions for R.
punctularia were recently reported for Tocantins and
Maranhão, central-north Brazil, well inside the Cerrado
biome (Dornas et al., 2011; Silva et al., 2011; Pereira et
al.,2013).Theserecordsareclearevidenceofthegeneral
lack of information on the geographical distribution of
Brazilian terrestrial and freshwater turtles, particularly
Figure 1. Location records of specimens of Aperema (Rhinoclemmys punctularia) found in the coastal plains of eastern Rio de
Janeiro state, Brazil.

3. On the intriguing occurrence of Rhinoclemmys punctularia in Brazil 669
R. punctularia, (Pritchard and Trebbau, 1984; Iverson,
1992; Vanzolini, 1994). Not surprisingly, as a possible
result of increased search effort, there are now available
numerous articles covering the range extensions of
some terrestrial and aquatic turtles in Brazil (e.g. Molina
et al., 2009; Sousa and Novelli, 2009; Costa et al., 2010;
Silveira and Valinhas, 2010). Indeed, the description of a
new species of side-necked turtle (genus Mesoclemmys)
within the Cerrado-Caatinga biomes in Northeastern
Brazil (Bour and Zaher, 2005) is equally remarkable.
We must consider the possibility of the present R.
punctularia specimens as being of captive origin that
escaped or unintentionally introduced in the area. If
a captive origin is to be considered, they probably
came from an unknown breeding facility. Authorized
breeders are listed in: http://www.ibama.gov.br/fauna/
criadouros/conservacionistas.pdf, and no breeders are
found in the Cabo Frio – Rio das Ostras surroundings.
In addition, Aperema turtles have not been a component
of the common wildlife trade in south-southeastern
Brazil. In contrast, Trachemys dorbigni and Trachemys
scripta elegans are traditionally kept as pets elsewhere
in south-southeastern Brazil. Additionally, Chelonoidis
carbonariaandC.denticulataarecommonlykeptaspets
in most parts of Brazil. In fact, specimens of Trachemys
scripta elegans and C. denticulata are frequently found
in the houses of the various surrounding municipalities
including Cabo Frio, Armação dos Búzios, Casimiro de
Abreu, São Pedro D’Aldeia, Iguaba Grande, Araruama
and Rio das Ostras. Strays of such species are often
reported to our group.
We can also speculate that specimens of R. punctularia
were brought as pets from the Amazon region and
released after they increased in size. However, the
possibility of a relictual population of Rhinoclemmys
occurring in a small area in eastern Rio de Janeiro state
cannot be disregarded. The ‘restingas’ of eastern Rio
de Janeiro are important areas of reptilian endemism
(Rocha et al., 2005). This particular stretch of coastal
vegetation is home to endemic species of lizards
(Liolaemus lutzae and Cnemidophorus littoralis) in
addition to a recently described Colubridae (Tantilla
Figure 2. Dorsal view (A), plastron view (B) and details of the carapace (C) and head (D) of the Aperema (Rhinoclemmys
punctularia) specimen found in Rio das Ostras, eastern Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil in December 2008.

4. sp.) and one amphisbaena (Rocha et al., 2005; Muniz,
2010). Not surprisingly, our specimens were found in an
environment with many coastal plain lakes. This agrees
with the findings of Wariss et al. (2012) for a coastal area
in northeastern Pará state, in which almost 90% of R.
punctularia specimens were ‘caught in the coastal plain
lakes’. The origin of the R. punctularia specimens on the
coast of eastern Rio de Janeiro state is of great concern.
The nearest confirmed record is from Tocantins, some
1,500 km in linear distance from eastern Rio de Janeiro.
Whether they represent an invasive alien species or a
naturally occurring population, their occurrence clearly
indicates the need of future field surveys to clarify this
question.
Acknowledgements. Specimens were recovered under permit
nr. 32550-1 issued by MMA/ICMBio. We are indebted to all the
technicians, interns and volunteers of GEMM-Lagos in recent
years for their dedicated assistance during field work. CAR
Matias and RLQ de Freitas Filho provided the pictures of the
reported specimens in the field and lab.
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