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ORIGIN AND CURRENT STATUS OF THE and St. Clair (2002) argued that southwestern British PACIFIC POND TURTLE (ACTINEMYS Columbia had suitable habitat and the species might have been native. MARMORATA) IN BRITISH COLUMBIA This article reviews historical and recent reports of the Pacific (Western) Pond Turtle for Francis R. Cook¹, R. Wayne Campbell² and Glenn British Columbia and provides documentation for R. Ryder³ a previously unrecorded introduction of turtles at Burnaby Lake on the southwest mainland coast of ¹13078 Land O’Nod Road, R.R. 3, North Augusta, the province. ON, K0G 1R0 Historical Distribution in British Columbia ²2511 Kilgary Place, Victoria, BC, V8N 1J6 The Pacific Pond Turtle is endemic to western North America. There is a cluster of records for ³Lions Grove Estates, #302, 2888-273 Street, western Washington but the species mainly ranges Aldergrove, BC, V4W 3M6 from extreme southwestern Washington and western Oregon south through California, to northwestern Abstract Baja California and into Mexico, with a pocket in The early history and present status of the Pacific western north-central Nevada (Nussbaum 1983, (Western) Pond Stebbins 1985, Turtle (Actinemys “...Actinemys marmorata were found Iverson 1992). It marmorata) in has been introduced British Columbia several years after the exotics, leading in central Oregon is documented to speculation that they could have been (Stebbins 1985, including known Iverson 1992). i n t r o d u c t i o n s . part of replacement market imports for British Columbia Evidence strongly exotics...” records have been suggests that the variously treated. species is extirpated In the and never did occur naturally in the province. earliest comprehensive account of the amphibians and reptiles of British Columbia, Lord (1866) recounted Introduction observations and collections made in 1859-1860 as Over 70 years ago Storer (1932) observed “ancient naturalist to the British Boundary Commission on errors in statements of animal distribution die slowly Vancouver Island and the mainland from the coast to if at all” and the history of reports of turtles in British the western side of the Rocky Mountains (see Baker Columbia underscores the truth of this. The origin 2002 for an account of Lord’s life). He recorded of the Pacific Pond Turtle (Actinemys marmorata), (Lord 1866:II:301) under Actinemys marmorata “I [formerly Western Pond Turtle (Clemmys marmorata) have seen them in nearly every lake and pond east (Crother et al. 2003)], in British Columbia has long and west of the Cascades. They also are common been uncertain. McTaggart-Cowan (1937) questioned on Vancouver Island.” Earlier Lord (1866:II:103) early identifications by Lord (1866). Cook (1984) commented “I believe this is the only species of suggested that early records for Vancouver Island freshwater turtle in British Columbia.” were of escaped or released captives originally He makes no mention, however, of Western from the United States. Buskirk (1991) questioned Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta bellii) which are the authenticity of all records for the Fraser River now locally abundant in southern British Columbia watershed on the mainland of the province. Carl (Thacker 1924, Holland 1937, Gregory and Campbell (1944) and subsequent revisions (Carl 1951, 1968) 1984) within the range given by Lord (1866:II:101- and Gregory and Campbell (1984), however, treated 102), including Vancouver Island. His description the species as part of the native herptofauna. Cameron of the turtles he saw is vague “The general colour 2:2 December 2005 58 is olive, with darker markings, the under-portion that “Lord (1866) reports it common on Vancouver (or ‘plastron’) being a brilliant yellow.” With Island, but since that time all turtles examined from imaginative mental gymnastics this statement could Vancouver Island have proved to be Chrysemys”. be interpreted to apply to either western turtle species, Storer (1937), however, had reported that “In 1929, the Pacific Pond or the Painted, though it omits key Mr. Harlan I. Smith, Dominion Archaeologist, characteristics of both, but most likely refers to the obtained some turtles in McCoy Lake, near Alberni latter (Storer 1932). However, specimens from the on Vancouver Island, that were identified [sic] by Mr. Boundary Survey expedition were deposited in the Clyde L. Patch of the Canadian National Museum as British Museum and are cited by both Gray (1873) Damonia sp. [=Chinemys]. Since Chinese have long [fide Storer 1932] and Boulenger (1889) as Western been resident on Vancouver Island and are noted for Painted Turtles. importing various animals from their home country The source of Lord’s original confusion may for food or medicinal use, it seems likely that the have been his reliance on a paper by Cooper (1860), turtles were transported by them. George P. Holland of who stated that Actinemys marmorata “the only Vancouver (working on his MA on Painted Turtles in turtle yet known from west of the Rocky Mountains, British Columbia: [Holland 1937: see Carman 1987, is common in freshwater ponds and rivers west of the Becker 1987] (wrote in a letter October 9, 1934), that Cascade Mountains, though less so in the Columbia a Chinese curio dealer, Teen Jore, with stores in both than in the warmer ponds” [fide Storer 1932]. Storer Victoria and Vancouver, frequently stocks Damonia (1932) points out that Cooper, like Lord, made reevesii [Chinemys reevesii]. Possibly the animals no mention of painted turtles west of the Rocky found by Harlan Smith were escaped pets or their Mountains. Boulenger (1889) records none from descendants. According to Mr. Holland, “the species British Columbia under Clemmys marmorata (page seems to thrive in captivity in the local climate.” 110) but four under Chrysemys cinerea, var. bellii There are two specimens originally catalogued (page 74): a, stuffed male “British Columbia. G. W. as Damonia from British Columbia dated “1929” Dawson, Esq. British N. A. Boundary Comm.”; b,c. (without day or month) in the collections of the two adult shells “British Columbia. J. K. Lord, Esq.”; Canadian Museum of Nature. One, NMC 1525 and d, “yg” [=young?] in spirits “Walla, British is labeled “Alberni, Vancouver Island. Alexander Columbia. J.K. Lord, Esq.” [now in Washington Gilmore.” The other, NMC 1551, is labeled state]. Storer (1937) reports examining all of these “Vancouver. Margaret White.” McTaggart-Cowan specimens in April 1934 and confirms their identity (1938) repeats the evidence for the occurrence of as painted turtles. He comments that on the bottle painted turtles on Vancouver Island and accepts “d” there “are the following entries: first ‘Actinemys Lord’s observations there as being this species. marmorata Presented by J. K. Lord, ‘then, in another In the Canadian Museum of Nature files there hand, ‘Chrysemys bellii Chrysemys picta var 3 p. is an extract of a letter from A. Monks, a provincial Walla Walla see Brit. Columbia II, p. 301’ [the latter game warden at Alberni, BC, apparently to C. L. obviously a reference to this specimen in Lord’s Patch, dated 15 August 1929: “In reply to your letter book]. After the word marmorata, which is partly of August 9, 1929, I beg to state that the turtle sent by crossed out, is written in the later hand ‘Lord not Mr. Smith is not quite the same as the ones seen in the Agassiz’.” lakes in this locality, as the ones here grow to about Kermode (1909) “listed marmorata from the twelve inches in length and about six inches wide. mainland of British Columbia” (Storer 1937), The colour is also different being black and yellow presumably based on Lord’s (1866) account, though an[d] brown underneath while the one sent to you if so, for unexplained reasons he omitted it from was mostly a grayish brown all over.” Presumably, Vancouver Island. In 1934 Kermode sent a turtle Monk’s description is of painted turtles. from the island to Stoner who identified it as a The exotic species is now known as Chinemys Painted Turtle (Storer 1937). reevesii and its natural variation and habitat is McTaggart-Cowan (1937), in his review of summarized by Ernst and Barbour (1989). It is British Columbia amphibians and reptiles, comments brown above and yellow below with dark brown 59 Wildlife Afield blotches on each plastral scute but has an irregular Campbell (1984) comment “Perhaps its status in pattern of thin yellow lines on the head, limbs, British Columbia is partly or wholly related to the and tail. It attains a carapace length of 236 mm fact that it was exploited as food by humans early and the upper shell has three longitudinal keels, in the twentieth century and possibly earlier. In fact, a pronounced medial one and lower ones, on each the Pacific (Western) Pond Turtle may never have side. It occurs in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, occurred naturally in this province; the two records and the Chinese mainland (Ernst and Barbour 1989). could be of turtles escaped after being imported from The species has apparently been moved within its the south for food.” native area by humans to such an extent and for so There are references (undocumented as to source) long that detailed morphological analysis of the 31 to subsequent reports: Froom (1976) “There is a skeletal characters found high variability with little reported sighting from Burnaby Lake in 1961”, Cook geographic correlation (Lovich et al. 1985). These (1977) “the last report was in 1959”, and Gregory authors also point out that the species has been used and Campbell (1984) “last reported in 1966”. The in food and medicines since at least 2737 B C, citing sources of each of these references were apparently Moll (1982). based on information given by R. W. Campbell (see Holland (1937) and McTaggart-Cowan below). (1937, 1938), cited an individual examined and photographed as a valid record of Clemmys Recent British Columbia Introductions marmorata for British Columbia.