West African Mud Turtle

About the West African Mud Turtle

The West African mud turtle (Pelusios castaneus), also known as the West African side-necked turtle or swamp terrapin, is a species of turtle in the family Pelomedusidae. Pelusios castaneus is a freshwater species and is endemic to West and Central Africa.

The so-called Seychelles black terrapin, Seychelles mud turtle, or Seychelles terrapin was considered a species of turtle (Pelusios seychellensis) in the family Pelomedusidae, 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.

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. The West African mud turtle is found in the following countries of West and Central 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, The Gambia, Togo. Additionally, it has been introduced to Guadeloupe.

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