Mertens, 1967
Hoge's side-necked turtle
Recognition
This rare species is known from only a few specimens collected in southeastern Brazil (Mertens, 1967; Rhodin et al., 1982). The domed carapace is elongated (to 34.7 cm) and oval with unserrated posterior marginals. It lacks any keel, medial groove, or flaring of the posterior marginals. In the adult, vertebral 1 is large and much broader than long; vertebral 5 is expanded posteriorly and broader than long; and vertebrals 2-4 are longer than or at least as long as broad. Carapaces vary in color from light to dark brown. The plastron is well-developed with a posterior notch. Its forelobe is broader than the hindlobe, and the bridge is broad. The plastral formula of the holotype is: abd > fem > intergul > hum > gul = an > pect. The plastron is uniformly yellow or has irregular, indistinct gray-brown blotches. The head is very narrow with a slightly projecting snout and an unnotched upper jaw. There are two rather long chin barbels. The head is distinctly bicolored: uniformly dark dorsally and yellow ventrally. Dorsal coloration is gray to dark brown, and females have dark-red pigment along the sides. Jaws are yellow with a small gray blotch on the posterior part of the mandible. The iris is brown with a narrow, irregular yellow border around the pupil. The neck is gray to brown dorsally, yellow ventrally. Limbs and tail are dark on their outer and upper surfaces, but pinkish orange to cream beneath.
Males have larger, thicker tails and concave plastra. The plastron of the female is flat, and her tail is shorter.
Distribution
Phrynops hogei seems to be restricted to a small area in the Rio Paraiba drainage of the states of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, and in the nearby Rio Itapemirim in southern Espirito Santo, Brazil (Rhodin et al., 1982).
Habitat
The waterways occupied by Phrynops hogei are in low-lying areas under 500 m elevation.
IUCN Red List Status (1996)
Phrynops hogei is rare; it is listed in the Red List as Endangered (B1+2c).