African forest turtle

The African forest turtle (Pelusios gabonensis) is a species of turtle in the family Pelomedusidae. It is endemic to Africa, where it can be found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda

African forest turtle
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Pleurodira
Family:	Pelomedusidae
Genus:	Pelusios
Species:	P. gabonensis
Binomial name
Pelusios gabonensis Duméril, 1856
Synonyms
Pentonyx gabonensis - Duméril, 1856 Pelomedusa gabonensis – Strauch, 1862 Pentonyx gaboonensis - Gray (ex errore), 1863 Pelomedusa gabonica - Peters (ex errore), 1864 Sternothaerus gabonensis – Bocage, 1866 Sternothaerus steindachneri - Siebenrock, 1902 Pelusios gabonensis – Schmidt, 1919

Description

The African forest turtle is a side-necked turtle; unable to fully withdraw their heads into their shells, they draw them to the side and fold them beneath the upper edge of their shells.

This species is characterized by a flattened, brown carapace with a black dorsal line. The plastron hinge is located in rear position.

Bibliography

• Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Iverson, 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" (PDF). Chelonian Research Monographs. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-31.
• Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007-10-31). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-01. Retrieved 2010-12-29.