Phrynops hilarii (Duméril and Bibron, 1835)

Spot-bellied Side-neck Turtle,

Phrynops hilarii (Duméril and Bibron, 1835) View in CoL

On 31 October 2019 an individual of this species was encountered crossing the road on Ruta Nacional XX, c. 4 km north of the entrance to Ayolas at the crossroads towards Atinguy (27°19’49.0”S 56°46’19.2”W), Misiones department by SG ( Fig. 1 View Fig ). The individual had a carapace length of 400 mm and was identifiable based on the distinctive carapace shape and head pattern ( Richard 1999). This   GoogleMaps is the first record of the species in Misiones   GoogleMaps department, Paraguay and the first report from the Paraguayan   GoogleMaps stretch of the lower Paraná River Basin. However   GoogleMaps , it is not unexpected given the known distribution of the species in Argentina (Buenos Aires, Chaco, Córdoba, Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Formosa, Misiones   GoogleMaps , Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero) ( Richard, 1999; Derocco   GoogleMaps , Alcalde   GoogleMaps , Rosset   GoogleMaps , 2006; Cabrera, 2022). Previously   GoogleMaps , the species was known from just three Paraguayan   GoogleMaps records, all in the watershed of the Paraguay River   GoogleMaps ( Cacciali, Scott, Aquino, Fitzgerald, Smith, 2016b). There   GoogleMaps are single literature records from Alto Paraguay / Presidente Hayes ( Riacho Mosquito   GoogleMaps ; Krieg, 1948), Concepción (near Concepción; Marano, 2011) and Ñeembucú ( Pilar   GoogleMaps ; Giraudo and Contreras, 1994) departments, in addition to a specimen collected by Captain Thomas J. Page (USNM 7320), that dates from a time when the borders of Paraguay were much greater. The   GoogleMaps species is considered “Endangered” in Paraguay ( Martínez et al., 2020c).