Annual Turtle and Tortoise Show 2024 Winners

The 2024 Annual NYTTS Turtle and Tortoise Show

The 46th Annual Turtle and Tortoise Show was held on Saturday, June 29, 2024,
at the Sarah Lawrence College Center for the Urban River at Beczak in Yonkers, NY.

Show Judge Anthony Pierlioni
awarding medals to turtle owners
Photo by Bill Cermak

Proud winner Brian Blecher with Best in Show trophy and Pancake Tortoises

Best in Show winner Brian Blecher
for his pair of Pancake Tortoises
Photo by Bill Cermak

NYTTS thanks Anthony Pierlioni for judging our show this year! Anthony has years of experience working in management for general practice, specialty, and emergency veterinary hospitals. He has written several books and articles on veterinary leadership and endangered turtles and has traveled the country lecturing on these topics. He is the Vice President of theTurtleRoom, a 501c3 nonprofit organization that provides in-situ conservation, ex-situ preservation, and educational programs in an effort to save turtles internationally.

The Medals Click each image to enlarge; click again to shrink.

Judging — Awarding of medals is based not only on the quality of the animal (configuration and form, uniqueness, and rarity of species) but also upon ownership responsibility (length of ownership, general health and physical condition, and apparent quality of husbandry). Significant credit is also given when animals have been successfully bred in captivity.

Turtle Names
The common names of turtles and tortoises vary widely by country and region. To maintain consistency, John Iverson’s scheme of common names (A Revised Checklist with Distribution Maps of the Turtles of the World) has been followed. Therefore, a number of familiar names many of us use informally may have been partly altered or replaced. See the following informal common names and the equivalent Iverson common names below:

Burmese Brown Tortoise (Manouria emys) = Asian Brown Tortoise
Chinese Box Turtle (Cuora flavomarginata) = Yellow-margined Box Turtle
Flat-tailed tortoise (Pyxis planicauda() = Flat-shelled spider tortoise
Greek Tortoise (Testudo graeca) = Spur-thighed Tortoise
Russian Tortoise (Agrionemys horsfieldii) = Central Asian Tortoise
Sulcata Tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata) = African Spurred Tortoise

All photos by Bill Cermak

First Place — Gold Medal Winners

Kevin Golden, Samantha Dee, Gary Dee, Sara Ramos, Matt Hybel, Michael Sherwin, Mark DaSilva,
and Brian Blecher (down front)

Brian Blecher
Cherry Head Red-footed Tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonarius)

Mark DaSilva
African Dwarf Mud Turtle (Pelusios nanus)

Mark DaSilva
Narrow-bridged Musk Turtle (Claudius angustatus)

Mark DaSilva
Central Asian (Russian) Tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii)

Gary and Samantha Dee
Red-footed Tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonarius)

Kevin Golden
Pig-nosed or Fly River Turtle (Carettochelys insculpta)

Kevin Golden
Peruvian Matamata Turtle (Chelus fimbriatus)

Matt Hybel
Giant Asian Pond Turtle (Heosemys grandis)

Sara Ramos
Yellow-footed Tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulatus)

Michael Sherwin
Asian Leaf Turtle (Cyclemys dentata)

Second Place — Silver Medal Winners

Matt Hybel, Kevin Golden, Brian Blecher, Frank Schneider, Michael Sharwin, and Mark DaSilva

Brian Blecher
Central American or Painted Wood Turtle (Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima manni)

Mark DaSilva
Yellow-margined Box Turtle (Cuora flavomarginata)

Kevin Golden
Roti Island snake-necked turtle (Chelodina mccordi)

Matt Hybel
Asian Brown Tortoise (Manouria emys)

Frank and Barbara Schneider
Red-footed Tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonarius)

Frank and Barbara Schneider
Asian Brown Tortoise (Manouria emys)

Michael Sherwin
Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

Michael Sherwin
Spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata)

Michael Sherwin
Yellow-margined Box Turtle (Cuora flavomarginata)

Michael Sherwin
Central Asian Tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii)

Third Place — Bronae Medal Winners

Frank Schneider and Sara Ramos

Sara Ramos
Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Frank and Barbara Schneider
Eastern Box Turtle (Terapene carolina carolina)

See a slide show of photos taken at the Show.
All photos by Bill Cermak unless otherswise labeled.
Hold arrow over photo to pause slide changes.