Senegal flapshell turtle

{{Speciesbox

| image = Cyclanorbis senegalensis (29599866321).jpg

| image2 = TetrathyraPlastronPZSL1864.jpg

| image2_caption = Underside of shell

| status = VU

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Diagne, T. |author-link=species:Tomas Diagne |author2=Luiselli, L. |author2-link=species:Luca Luiselli |author3=Trape, J.-F. |author3-link=species:Jean-François Trape |author4=Rödel, M.-O. |author4-link=species:Mark-Oliver Rödel |author5=Baker, P.J. |author5-link=species:Patrick J. Baker |author6=Chirio, L. |author6-link=species:Laurent Chirio |author7=Petrozzi, F. |author7-link=species:Fabio Petrozzi |author8=Segniagbeto, G. |author8-link=species:Gabriel Hoinsoudé Segniagbeto |date=2016 |title=Cyclanorbis senegalensis |volume=2016 |page=e.T6005A96447114 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T6005A96447114.en |access-date=16 November 2021}}

| 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 = senegalensis

| authority = (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1835)

| synonyms = * Cryptopus senegalensis
A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1835

Emyda senegalensis
— Gray, 1844
Cyclanorbis petersii
Gray, 1854
Cyclanosteus petersii
— Gray, 1856
Cycloderma senegalense
— A.H.A. Duméril, 1860 (ex errore)
Cycloderma petersii
— Strauch, 1862
Cyclanosteus senegalensis
— Gray, 1864
Tetrathyra baikii
Gray, 1865
Tetrathyra vaillantii
Rochebrune, 1884
Cyclanorbis senegalensis
— Boulenger, 1889

| synonyms_ref = {{Cite journal |journal=Vertebrate Zoology |title=Checklist of Chelonians of the World |year=2007 |author=Fritz, Uwe |author-link=species:Uwe Fritz |author2=Havaš, Peter |author2-link=species:Peter Havaš |volume=57 |issue=2 |pages=313 |doi=10.3897/vz.57.e30895 |doi-access=free |issn=1864-5755 }}

}}

The Senegal flapshell turtle (Cyclanorbis senegalensis) is a species of turtle in the subfamily Cyclanorbinae of the family Trionychidae. The species, which is one of two species of softshell turtles in the genus Cyclanorbis, is endemic to Africa.

Geographic range

C. senegalensis is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, and Togo.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of C. senegalensis are freshwater wetlands and savanna.File:Cyclanorbis senegalensis (29569951182).jpg

Description

C. senegalensis may attain a straight-line carapace length of {{convert|35|cm|in|abbr=on}}.

The head is olive, with numerous white dots. The carapace is olive, either uniform or with small dark blotches. Hatchlings have longitudinal rows of small tubercles on the carapace. The plastron is yellowish, clouded with brown. The plastral callosities are finely granular.Boulenger GA (1889). Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhynchocephalians, and Crocodiles in the British Museum (Natural History). New Edition. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). x + 311 pp. + Plates I–VI. (Cyclanorbis senegalensis, new combination, pp. 271–272).

Diet

C. senegalensis preys upon tadpoles, other amphibians, and fishes. Large adults of C. senegalensis have jaws strong enough to also eat freshwater clams and snails.

References

External links

{{EMBL species|genus=Cyclanorbis|species=senegalensis}}

Category:Cyclanorbis

Category:Reptiles described in 1835

Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot