Sometimes called the bearded toadheads but better known by their scientific name of Phrynops this genus of turtles has often been a bit of a dumping ground for the short-necked South American turtles of the family Chelidae.

The genus is widely distributed in South America found in the Orinoco to Amazon and São Francisco to Paraná and adjacent river basins of Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and northeastern Argentina (Iverson, 1992).

A turtle of the genus Phrynops generally achieves thermoregulation through areal basking. In order to best attain its goal, it tends to increase its basking time during mid-day during the winters to make up for the cold. Other factors such as food intake and reproduction underwater also influence the way it controls the temperature of its body. Although this is the main way it is able to maintain body temperature, food intake and reproduction rates are also influential in the matter.

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