Nubian flapshell turtle
{{Short description|Species of turtle}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Cyclanorbis elegans.jpg
| status = CR
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status2 = CITES_A2
| status2_system = CITES
| status2_ref = {{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}
| genus = Cyclanorbis
| species = elegans
| authority = (Gray, 1869)
| synonyms =
- Baikiea elegans Gray, 1869
- Cyclanorbis elegans – Boulenger, 1889
- Cyclanorbis oligotylus Siebenrock, 1902
| synonyms_ref = {{Cite journal | journal = Vertebrate Zoology | title = Checklist of Chelonians of the World | year = 2007 | author = Fritz Uwe | author2 = Peter Havaš | volume = 57 | issue = 2 | pages = 313 | doi = 10.3897/vz.57.e30895 | doi-access = free | issn = 1864-5755 }}
}}
The Nubian flapshell turtle or Nubian soft-shelled turtle (Cyclanorbis elegans) is one of two species of softshell turtle in the genus Cyclanorbis of the Trionychidae family. It is thought to have ranged from West Africa east through Central Africa to South Sudan, although it has been extirpated from the vast majority of its range.
Distribution
Historically, Cyclanorbis elegans was found over a wide range, spanning from West Africa (Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo) east through Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia and Sudan. In 2017, a lone population was found in the White Nile wetlands of South Sudan by Prof. Luca Luiselli and his team; this discovery was publicized in a 2019 paper.{{Cite web|url=https://www.turtle-island.at/kopie-von-jangtse-weichschildkroete|title=Nubische Klappen-Weichschildkröte|website=Turtle Island|language=de|access-date=2019-07-09}}{{Cite journal|last1=Demaya|first1=Gift Simon|last2=Benansio|first2=John Sebit|last3=Lado|first3=Thomas Francis|last4=Diagne|first4=Tomas|last5=Dendi|first5=Daniele|last6=Luiselli|first6=Luca|date=June 12, 2019|title=Rediscovery of the Nubian Flapshell Turtle (Cyclanorbis elegans) in South Sudan|url=https://bioone.org/journals/chelonian-conservation-and-biology/volume-18/issue-1/18.1.62/Rediscovery-of-the-Nubian-Flapshell-Turtle-Cyclanorbis-elegans-in-South/10.2744/18.1.62.full|journal=Chelonian Conservation and Biology|volume=18|issue=1|pages=62–67|doi=10.2744/18.1.62|s2cid=198305659 |issn=1071-8443|url-access=subscription}} In 2021, another population was found along the same wetlands, but in northern Uganda (near the border with South Sudan); the species had not previously been recorded in this area.{{Cite journal|last1=Luiselli|first1=Luca|last2=Demaya|first2=Gift Simon|last3=Benansio|first3=John Sebit|last4=Lado|first4=Thomas Francis|last5=Jubarah|first5=Salah|date=January 2022|title=Nubian flapshell turtle found in northern Uganda|journal=Oryx|language=en|volume=56|issue=1|pages=10|doi=10.1017/S0030605321001332|s2cid=245681001 |issn=0030-6053|doi-access=free}}
On the biodiversity database iNaturalist, several "research-grade" sightings—i.e., with clear photographic evidence and GPS coordinates—of C. elegans have been documented between April 2022 and May 2024;{{Cite web |date=29 July 2024 |title=Observations • iNaturalist |url=https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&subview=table&taxon_id=39545 }} the bulk of these observations took place in and around Salamat, Chad,{{Cite web |date=29 July 2024 |title=Observations • iNaturalist |url=https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=7074&subview=table&taxon_id=39545 }} while others have occurred in West Gonja, Ghana, and Tangúieta, Benin.
Description
Conservation
The Nubian flapshell turtle's habitat is often located in very politically-hostile and tumultuous areas, which results in habitat loss due to situations surrounding local skirmishes, land mines and a greater need for water by local armed forces and civilians. In addition, especially during times of war, the turtles may be hunted as bushmeat.{{Cite journal|last1=Demaya|first1=Gift Simon|last2=Benansio|first2=John Sebit|last3=Lado|first3=Thomas Francis|last4=Diagne|first4=Tomas|last5=Dendi|first5=Daniele|last6=Luiselli|first6=Luca|date=June 12, 2019|title=Rediscovery of the Nubian Flapshell Turtle (Cyclanorbis elegans) in South Sudan|url=https://bioone.org/journals/chelonian-conservation-and-biology/volume-18/issue-1/18.1.62/Rediscovery-of-the-Nubian-Flapshell-Turtle-Cyclanorbis-elegans-in-South/10.2744/18.1.62.full|journal=Chelonian Conservation and Biology|volume=18|issue=1|pages=62–67|doi=10.2744/18.1.62|s2cid=198305659 |issn=1071-8443|url-access=subscription}} Some Chinese expatriates in Africa are known to offer rather large sums of money to poorer fishermen in exchange for catching these turtles, as they are valued for both food and Chinese medicine. Some of the captured turtles are then further exported to Asia for "fresh" availability.{{Cite journal|last1=Luiselli|first1=Luca|last2=Dendi|first2=Daniele|last3=Benansio|first3=John Sebit|last4=Demaya|first4=Gift Simon|last5=Stanford|first5=Craig B.|date=July 6, 2021|title=An additional threat to the recently rediscovered Nubian flapshell turtle in South Sudan|journal=Oryx|language=en|volume=55|issue=4|pages=490|doi=10.1017/S0030605321000430|s2cid=235736006 |issn=0030-6053|doi-access=free}} Bari fishermen, in South Sudan, have extensive cultural knowledge of the Nubian flapshell turtle, including natural history, lifestyle and reproductive patterns, and nesting sites, which may prove useful in future and ongoing conservation efforts of the species.{{Cite journal|last1=Demaya|first1=Gift Simon|last2=Benansio|first2=John Sebit|last3=Lado|first3=Thomas Francis|last4=Jubarah|first4=Salah Khatir|last5=Ladu|first5=John Leju Celestino|last6=Luiselli|first6=Luca|date=2019-10-18|title=Local Ecological Knowledge in South Sudan Can Help Conservation and Management of Cyclanorbis elegans|url=https://doi.org/10.2744/CCB-1377.1|journal=Chelonian Conservation and Biology|volume=18|issue=2|pages=259–264|doi=10.2744/CCB-1377.1|s2cid=208567334 |issn=1071-8443|url-access=subscription}}
References
{{Reflist|refs=)
{{NRDB species |genus=Cyclanorbis |species=elegans |accessdate=1 February 2021}}
}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Cyclanorbis elegans|Cyclanorbis elegans}}
- {{Wikispecies-inline|Cyclanorbis elegans|Cyclanorbis elegans}}
{{Trionychidae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q302076}}
Category:Reptiles of the Central African Republic
Category:Reptiles of South Sudan
Category:Reptiles of West Africa
Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray
Category:Reptiles described in 1869
Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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