• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.226-229
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• 2007

Survival, tag retention and tag readability were compared among the control and three treatment groups of soft-shelled turtles, Pelodiscus sinensis Crother, 2000 (mean body $weight{\pm}SD$: $182.6{\pm}13.7\;g$), marked with visible implant fluorescent elastomer (VIFE) tags for 16 months. Mortality 4 to 16 months after tagging was attributed to collection and handling stress rather than to the tagging itself. Tags applied to the web surface between the fourth and fifth dactyl of the hindfoot appeared to have the highest retention rates, while adipose eyelid tagging had high tag readability but a high loss rate. We conclude that in soft-shelled turtles, the most suitable region for VIFE tagging is on the web surface between the fourth and fifth dactyls of the hindfoot.