West African mud turtle

The West African mud turtle (Pelusios castaneus), also known as the West African side-necked turtle or swamp terrapin,^[3] is a species of turtle in the family Pelomedusidae. Pelusios castaneus is a freshwater species and is endemic to West and Central Africa.

West African mud turtle
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 2.3)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Pleurodira
Family:	Pelomedusidae
Genus:	Pelusios
Species:	P. castaneus
Binomial name
Pelusios castaneus (Schweigger, 1812)[1][2]
Synonyms[2]
Emys castanea Schweigger, 1812 Sternothaerus leachianus Bell, 1825 Pelusios castaneus — Wagler, 1830 Chelys (Sternotherus) castaneus — Gray, 1831 Sternotherus castaneus — Gray, 1831 Sternotherus leachianus — A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1835 Clemmys (Pelusios) castanea — Fitzinger, 1835 Sternotherus derbianus Gray, 1844 Sternothaerus castaneus — Gray, 1856 Sternothaerus derbianus — Gray, 1856 Sternothaerus nigricans castaneus — Siebenrock, 1906 Sternothaerus nigricans var. castanea — Boulenger, 1907 Pelusios derbianus — Schmidt, 1919 Pelusios nigricans castaneus — Hewitt, 1927 Pelusios seychellensis Siebenrock, 1906 Pelusios subniger castaneus — Mertens, 1933 Pelusios castaneus castaneus — Laurent, 1965 Pelusios castaneus derbianus — Laurent, 1965 Pelusios derbyanus Pritchard, 1967 (ex errore)

Taxonomy

Pelusios seychellensis lectotype

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.^[4]

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

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.^[1]

Ecology

The West African mud turtle is carnivorous and feeds on aquatic prey. There are five phases to feeding; preliminary head fixation on the prey, fine-tuning the head fixation, final approach by the head, grasping of the prey followed by manipulation and transportation, and suction, resulting in ingestion after which the prey is swallowed. The final phase varies according to whether the prey is fast-moving, like a fish, or slow-moving like a gastropod mollusc.^[6]