title: Underwater turning movement during foraging in Hydromedusa maximiliani (Testudines, Chelidae) from southeastern Brazil.
abstract: A type of locomotor behavior observed in animals with rigid bodies, that can be found in many animals with exoskeletons, shells, or other forms of body armor, to change direction, is the turning behavior. Aquatic floated-turning behavior among rigid bodies animals have been studied in whirligig beetles, boxfish, and more recently in freshwater turtle, Chrysemys picta. In the laboratory we observed a different kind of turning movement that consists in an underwater turning movement during foraging, wherein the animal pivoted its body, using one of the hindlimbs as the fixed-point support in the substratum. We describe, analyze and quantify this movement during foraging in Hydromedusa maximiliani, using observations made in the laboratory. We studied 3 adult specimens (2 males, 1 female) and 2 non-sexed juveniles of H. maximiliani. They were kept individually in an aquarium filled with water and small fish. They were filmed, in dorsal view, at 30 frames per second. Sequences were analyzed frame by frame and points were marked on limbs and shell to enable analysis of variation in limb flexion and extension, as well as rotation movements. While foraging, turtles frequently turned their bodies, using one hind leg as the pivot point. This underwater turning movement, in addition to slow movements with the neck stretched, or staying nearly immobile and scanning the surroundings with lateral movements of the neck (in arcs up to 180°), and fast attacks of neck, may increase prey capture rates.
authors: LAZOVERTE - Laboratório de Zoologia de Vertebrados - Tetrapoda, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia Roberto Alcantara Gomes - IBRAG, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro - UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: O
authors: O
authors: Rocha-Barbosa
authors: LAZOVERTE - Laboratório de Zoologia de Vertebrados - Tetrapoda, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia Roberto Alcantara Gomes - IBRAG, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro - UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: L S L
authors: LS
authors: Hohl
authors: Laboratório de Herpetologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora - UFJF, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
authors: I A
authors: IA
authors: Novelli
authors: Laboratório de Herpetologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora - UFJF, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
authors: B M
authors: BM
authors: Sousa
authors: Laboratório de Herpetologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora - UFJF, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
authors: S C
authors: SC
authors: Gomides
authors: LAZOVERTE - Laboratório de Zoologia de Vertebrados - Tetrapoda, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia Roberto Alcantara Gomes - IBRAG, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro - UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: M F C
authors: MF
authors: Loguercio
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D005618:Fresh Water; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D011235:Predatory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D014426:Turtles / Q000502:physiology*