West African mud turtle
| West African mud turtle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Pleurodira |
| Family: | Pelomedusidae |
| Genus: | Pelusios |
| Species: | P. castaneus |
| Binomial name | |
| Pelusios castaneus[1][2] (Schweigger, 1812)[1][2] | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
The West African mud turtle (West African side-necked turtle, swamp terrapin[3]) (Pelusios castaneus) is a species of turtle in the Pelomedusidae family. Pelusios castaneus is endemic to West and Middle Africa.
Taxonomy
The so-called Seychelles black terrapin, Seychelles mud turtle, or Seychelles terrapin was considered a species of turtle (Pelusios seychellensis) in the Pelomedusidae family, endemic to Seychelles.
Genetic analysis of the lectotype has shown, however, that this turtle was never a separate species, and is in fact Pelusios castaneus.[4] It is possible that specimens were confused in a private collection before being acquired by the Zoological Museum Hamburg in 1901, or else mislabeled there.[5]
Distribution
Found in the following countries of West and Middle Africa: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo. Introduced: Guadeloupe.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Rhodin 2011, p. 000.215
- 1 2 3 Fritz 2007, pp. 346-347
- ↑ Broadley, Donald G. (1973). "Provisional List of Vernacular Names for Rhodesian Reptiles and Amphibians". The Journal of the Herpetological Association of Africa 10 (1). doi:10.1080/04416651.1973.9650652.
- ↑ "One Extinct Turtle Less: Turtle Species in the Seychelles Never Existed". Science Daily. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ↑ Stuckas, Heiko; Gemel, Richard; Fritz, Uwe; Canestrelli, Daniele (April 3, 2013). "One Extinct Turtle Species Less: Pelusios seychellensis Is Not Extinct, It Never Existed". PLoS ONE 8 (4). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057116. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
Bibliography
- Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Inverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Roger, Bour (2011-12-31). "Turtles of the world, 2011 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status". Chelonian Research Monographs 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-22.
- Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007-10-31). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Archived from the original (pdf) on 2010-12-29. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
External links
 |
Wikispecies has information related to: Pelusios castaneus |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
