Vol. 9 No. 2 (2014)
Short Note

Sexing freshwater turtles: penile eversion in <em>Phrynops tuberosus</em> (Testudines: Chelidae)

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  • João Rodrigues,
  • Diego Soares,
  • José Silva
João Rodrigues
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução da Universidade Federal de Goiás; Núcleo Regional de Ofiologia da Universidade Federal do Ceará (NUROF-UFC); Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais da Universidade Federal do Ceará
Diego Soares
Núcleo Regional de Ofiologia da Universidade Federal do Ceará (NUROF-UFC)
José Silva
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais da Universidade Federal do Ceará
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13128/Acta_Herpetol-14736

Published 2014-11-17

How to Cite

Rodrigues, J., Soares, D., & Silva, J. (2014). Sexing freshwater turtles: penile eversion in <em>Phrynops tuberosus</em> (Testudines: Chelidae). Acta Herpetologica, 9(2), 259–263. https://doi.org/10.13128/Acta_Herpetol-14736
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Abstract

Here, we described a noninvasive method for sexing freshwater turtles by stimulating penile eversion. We immobilized the neck and limbs of animals using fingers and, after some seconds, turtles everted their penis. This method was tested in 33 male Phrynops tuberosus, and 28 everted the penis. The efficiency of the method was not dependent of animal size, which reinforces its applicability. Our method allows sexing turtles in the field, avoiding killing the animal or causing major injuries in order to assess the sex.

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