Global InformationHickatee information
| Hickatee | |
|---|---|
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| In the Prague Zoo | |
Conservation status
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 Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1] | |
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Cryptodira |
| Family: | Dermatemydidae |
| Genus: | Dermatemys Gray, 1847[3] |
| Species: | D. mawii
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| Binomial name | |
| Dermatemys mawii Gray, 1847[3]
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| Synonyms[8] | |
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The hickatee (Dermatemys mawii) or in Spanish tortuga blanca ('white turtle'), also called the Central American river turtle,[9] is the only living species in the family Dermatemydidae. The species is found in the Atlantic drainages of Central America, specifically Belize, Guatemala, southern Mexico and probably Honduras. It is a relatively large-bodied species, with records of 60 cm (24 in) straight carapace length and weights of 22 kg (49 lb); although most individuals are smaller. This is a herbivorous and almost completely aquatic turtle that does not even surface to bask. Bizarrely for reptiles, the eggs can remain viable even after being underwater for weeks -in the recent past, some scientists mistakenly claimed it nests underwater, likely due to visiting Central America during a frequent flood, when nests are often submerged.
In the culture of the Ancient Mayan civilisation this species and turtles in general had numerous uses such as being used in warfare, as musical instruments and as food, with this species likely being consumed by the elites during feasts. The Maya probably exported these turtles to areas where they do not occur, based on their shell remains in kitchen middens. There is genetic evidence that the Mayans and other ancient peoples may have hunted the turtle to local extinction in areas it now occurs in, and that some modern turtle populations stem from turtles introduced into waterways from elsewhere. The turtle also had mythological symbolism, although the true nature of Ancient Mayan myth has been largely obscured by time. Among the modern communities inheriting this land the turtle continues to be eagerly sought as a dish eaten during important cultural events. The meat of this turtle is said to be very tasty. It has thus had a long history of exploitation.
This has prompted Western conservationists to declare this use unsustainable, and that the turtle is now 'critically endangered', especially singling out the people of Tabasco as the culprits. In Belize, the only country where it is still legal to hunt these animals, it is still common in some areas, but populations are depressed in areas where people live. In Mexico the state of the population is unclear -it was said to be almost extirpated from Mexico in 2006 based on an entry in a book from the 1970s, but reasonable amounts are still caught in areas such as Tabasco and Quintana Roo. In Guatemala the species is abundant in some areas, but uncommon elsewhere.
Although in the 1990s scientists dismissed breeding this species as impracticable, it is now known they can reproduce in even quite poor waters, and as a generalist herbivorous species fodder costs are low. Much has been discovered regarding their animal husbandry, with some US scientists now musing that commercial breeding might be cost effective using experimental polyculture systems with the turtles as a secondary income source. The Mexican government already stimulated the farming of this species in the 2000s, there are now likely a few thousand kept in captivity there. The health of these captive animals is not ideal, and the success of these operations is unclear.
- ^ Vogt RC, Gonzalez-Porter GP, Van Dijk PP (2016) [errata version of 2006 assessment]. "Dermatemys mawii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2006: e.T6493A97409830. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2006.RLTS.T6493A12783921.en. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ a b c Gray JE (1847). "Description of a new Genus of Emydæ". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1847: 55–56. (Dermatemys, new genus, p. 55; Dermatemys Mawii, new species, p. 56).
- ^ Duméril AMC, Bibron G (1851). "Emys areolata, Emys berardii, Cinosternon leucostomum, Cinosternon cruentatum ". In: Duméril AMC, Duméril AHA (1851). Catalogue Methodique de la Collection des Reptiles (Museum d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris). Paris: Gide and Baudry. 224 pp. (in French).
- ^ Cope ED (1868). "An examination of the Reptilia and Batrachia obtained by the Orton expedition to Equador [sic] and the upper Amazon, with notes on other species". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 20: 96–140.
- ^ Gray JE (1870). Supplement to the Catalogue of Shield Reptiles in the Collection of the British Museum. Part I. Testudinata (Tortoises). London: British Museum. 120 pp.
- ^ Werner F (1901). "Neue Reptilien des Königsberger zoologischen Museums ". Zoologischer Anzeiger 24: 297–301. (in German).
- ^ Turtle Taxonomy Working Group [van Dijk PP, Iverson JB, Shaffer HB, Bour R, Rhodin AGJ] (2012). "Turtles of the World, 2012 update: annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution, and conservation status". Chelonian Research Monographs (5):, 000.243–000.328, doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v5.2012, [1].
- ^ Vogt, RC; Polisar, J. R.; Moll, Don; Gonzalez-Porter, Gracia (2011). Rhodin, AGJ; Pritchard, P. C. H.; van Dijk, P. P.; Samure, R. A.; Buhlmann, K. A.; Iverson, J. B.; Mittermeier, R. A. (eds.). "Dermatemys mawii Gray 1847 – Central American River Turtle, Tortuga Blanca, Hickatee, in Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group" (PDF). Chelonian Research Monographs. 5 (58): 1–11. doi:10.3854/crm.5.058.mawii.v1.2011.