MOLECULAR SYSTEMATICS OF THE GENUS CLEMMYS AND THE INTERGENERIC RELATIONSHIPS OF EMYDID TURTLES

Nucleotide sequence data from a 556 bp segment of the mitochondrial 16 S ribosomal RNA gene support the partition of emydid turtles into two distinct subfamilies. Phylogenetic analysis identifies two major clade s and corroborates previous morphological assignments of genera to the subfamilies Deirochelyinae and Emydinae. Within the subfamily Deiroch elyinae, Deirochelys appears to be the sister taxon to all other gener a in the subfamily, and support is found for a clade that includes Tra chemys, Graptemys, and Malaclemys. However, the other generic relation ships within this subfamily are not well resolved. Within the Emydinae , the genus Terrapene is monophyletic. Conversely, the genus Clemmys i s paraphyletic, necessitating a new generic arrangement of the species now considered to be in Clemmys, Emydoidea, and Emys.