What is the difference between Anhui grass turtles and Chinese grass turtles?
The Chinese grass turtle is also known as the common turtle, golden turtle, golden-line turtle, and so on. People in Japan, the Philippines, and Western countries regard it as a symbol of “good fortune and longevity&rdquo. So do you know the difference between Anhui grass turtles and Chinese grass turtles?
1. The difference between Anhui grass turtles and Chinese grass turtles
The Anhui grass turtle has a relatively smooth carapace, with inconspicuous growth lines, silver lines, and slight water stains. The Chinese grass turtle has a slightly raised carapace with three longitudinal keels, and the vertebral keel is obvious. The neck, limbs, and exposed skin are grayish black or blackish olive.
2. How to distinguish male from female
Generally, those with a rounder body are female, and those with a more elongated body are male. Those with a flat plastron are female, and those with a concave one are male. Those with a short tail are female, and those with a long tail are male.
When grass turtles mate, they use the position of the male on top and the female below. To avoid slipping off the female turtle's shell during mating, the male turtle's plastron is slightly concave, which can catch on the female turtle's raised back shell; however, female turtles do not need this structure, so the plastron is flat. Now you understand: as long as you turn the turtle over and feel the extent of the plastron with your fingers, you can quickly distinguish male from female.
The pattern on the male turtle's abdomen is sparse, while the pattern on the female turtle's abdomen is dense. Female turtle: the carapace is shorter and wider, the plastron is flat with no depression in the center, the tail is slender and short, the tail base is slender, the cloacal opening is closer to the rear edge of the plastron, and the notch formed by the two anal scutes of the plastron is shallower, with a larger notch angle.
Male turtle: the carapace is longer and narrower, the center of the plastron is slightly sunken inward, the tail is thick and long, the tail base is thick, the cloacal opening is farther from the rear edge of the plastron, and the notch formed by the two anal scutes of the plastron is deeper, with a smaller notch angle. Note that after male turtles mature, the whole body turns black (that is, the ink turtle), while female turtles still retain their original brown body color. A small number of female turtles also turn black after maturity.
The Chinese grass turtle has the characteristics of fast growth, strong disease resistance, high meat yield, delicious taste, and high ornamental value. In particular, in recent years, the number of wild Chinese grass turtles has decreased, and the market price of Chinese grass turtles has remained high, so they are highly favored by farmers.