Citation: Midtgaard, Rune. RepFocus - A Survey of the Reptiles of the World. (www.repfocus.dk).
Latest update: October 31st, 2023.
 
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Genus
Pelomedusa
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African Helmeted Turtles, Helmeted Terrapins, Marsh Terrapins
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Starrbrust-Pelomedusenschildkröten
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Afrikanske Hjelmskildpadder
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1830 |  |
Pelomedusa Wagler (type species: Testudo galeata Schoepff 1792) |
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1835 | |
Pentonyx Dumeril & Bibron (type species: Emys capensis Dumeril & Bibron 1835) |
Contents:
10 species, of which 2 (20.0%) are endemic.
Endemism: 0%  100%
Remarks:
Previous contained only a single species (subrufa), but now split into many different species
(Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz 2014).
Reports from some countries listed below are currently not assigned to species level, pending verification from DNA material.
Introduced to:
Madagascar.
Distribution:
Angola,
Benin,
Botswana,
Burkina Faso,
Burundi,
Central African Republic,
Congo-Brazzaville,
Congo-Kinshasa,
Eritrea,
Eswatini,
Ethiopia,
Gambia,
Ghana,
Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau,
Ivory Coast,
Kenya,
Lesotho,
Malawi,
Mali,
Mozambique,
Namibia,
Niger,
Nigeria,
Rwanda,
Saudi Arabia,
Senegal,
Sierra Leone,
Somalia,
South Africa
(Eastern Cape,
Free State,
Gauteng,
KwaZulu-Natal,
Limpopo,
Mpumalanga,
North West Province,
Northern Cape,
Western Cape),
South Sudan,
Sudan,
Tanzania,
Togo,
Uganda,
Yemen,
Zambia,
Zimbabwe.
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Pelomedusa barbata
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Arabian Helmeted Turtle
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Arabische Starrbrust-Pelomedusenschildkröte
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Arabisk Hjelmskildpadde
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2014 | |
Pelomedusa barbata Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz |
Distribution:
Saudi Arabia,
Yemen.
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Pelomedusa galeata
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South African Helmeted Turtle
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Südafrikanische Starrbrust-Pelomedusenschildkröte
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Sydafrikansk Hjelmskildpadde
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1792 | |
Testudo galeata Schoepff [nomen conservandum; ICZN 1989: Opinion 1534] |
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Emys galeata Schweigger 1812 |
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Hydraspis galeata Bell 1828 |
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Pelomedusa galeata Wagler 1830 |
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1835 | |
Pentonyx capensis Duméril & Bibron (Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz 2014) |
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1863 | |
Pelomedusa nigra Gray (Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz 2014) |
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Pelomedusa galeata nigra Hewitt 1935 |
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Pelomedusa subrufa nigra Bour 1986 |
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1935 | |
Pelomedusa galeata devilliersi Hewitt (Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz 2014) |
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1935 | |
Pelomedusa galeata orangensis Hewitt (Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz 2014) |
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Pelomedusa subrufa orangensis Hewitt 1937 |
Other common names:
nigra: Black African Helmeted Turtle
Remarks:
Previously regarded as a synonym of subrufa (e.g., Fritz & Havas 2006). Revalidated as a separate species by Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz (2014).
Distribution:
Eswatini,
Lesotho,
Mozambique,
South Africa
(Eastern Cape,
Free State,
Gauteng,
KwaZulu-Natal,
North West Province,
Northern Cape,
Western Cape).
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Pelomedusa gehafie
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Eritrean Helmeted Turtle
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Eritreische Starrbrust-Pelomedusenschildkröte
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Eritreisk Hjelmskildpadde
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1835 | |
Pentonyx gehafie Rüppell |
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Pelomedusa gehafiae [lapsus] Gray 1844 |
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Pelomedusa galeata gehafie Parker 1936 |
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Pelomedusa subrufa gehafie Mertens 1937 |
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1910 | |
Pelomedusa galeata var. disjuncta Vaillant & Grandidier (Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz 2014) |
Remarks:
Previously regarded as a synonym of subrufa (e.g., Fritz & Havas 2006).
Revalidated as a separate species by Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz (2014).
Distribution:
Eritrea,
Ethiopia,
Sudan.
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Pelomedusa kobe
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Tanzanian Helmeted Turtle
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Tanzania-Pelomedusenschildkröte
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Tanzania-hjelmskildpadde
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2014 | |
Pelomedusa kobe Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz |
Distribution:
Tanzania.
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Pelomedusa neumanni
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Kenyan Helmeted Turtle, (Neumann's Helmeted Turtle)
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Kenianische Starrbrust-Pelomedusenschildkröte
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Kenyansk Hjelmskildpadde
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2014 | |
Pelomedusa neumanni Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz |
Distribution:
Burundi,
Congo-Kinshasa,
Ethiopia,
Kenya,
Rwanda,
Tanzania,
Uganda,
Zambia.
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Pelomedusa olivacea
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Sahelian Helmeted Turtle, (North African Helmeted Turtle)
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Sahel-Starrbrust-Pelomedusenschildkröte
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Sahel-hjelmskildpadde
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1812 | |
Emys olivacea Schweigger |
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Hydraspis olivacea Fitzinger 1835 |
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Pelomedusa subrufa olivacea Loveridge 1941 |
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1884 | |
Pelomedusa gasconi Rochebrune (Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz 2014) |
Remarks:
Previously regarded as a synonym of subrufa (e.g., Fritz & Havas 2006). Revalidated as a separate species by Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz (2014). Records from some of the countries below are based on old records of subrufa, but herein tentatively included in the distribution of olivacea, although verification from DNA material is needed.
Distribution:
Benin,
Burkina Faso,
Gambia,
Ghana,
Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau,
Ivory Coast,
Mali,
Mauritania,
Niger,
Nigeria,
Senegal,
Sierra Leone,
Togo.
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Pelomedusa schweinfurthi
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Central African Helmeted Turtle
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Zentralafrikanische Starrbrust-Pelomedusenschildkröte
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Centralafrikansk Hjelmskildpadde
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2014 | |
Pelomedusa schweinfurthi Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz |
Distribution:
Central African Republic,
Congo-Kinshasa,
South Sudan,
Sudan,
Uganda.
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Pelomedusa somalica
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Somali Helmeted Turtle
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Somalische Starrbrust-Pelomedusenschildkröte
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Somalisk Hjelmskildpadde
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2014 | |
Pelomedusa somalica Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz |
Distribution:
Ethiopia,
Somalia.
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Pelomedusa subrufa
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Common Helmeted Turtle
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Gewöhnliche Starrbrust-Pelomedusenschildkröte
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Almindelig Hjelmskildpadde
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1789 | |
Testudo subrufa Bonnaterre |
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Emys subrufa Schweigger 1812 |
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Chelys subrufa Gray in Griffith 1831 |
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Hydraspis subrufa Gray 1831 |
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Pelomedusa subrufa Gray 1844 |
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Pelomedusa galeata subrufa Hewitt 1935 |
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1798 | |
Testudo badia Donndorff (Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz 2014) |
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1798 | |
Testudo rubicunda Suckow (Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz 2014) |
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1849 | |
Pentonyx americana Cornalia (Fritz & Havas 2006) |
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1935 | |
Pelomedusa galeata damarensis Hewitt (Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz 2014) |
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Pelomedusa subrufa damarensis Mertens 1937 |
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1937 | |
Pelomedusa subrufa wettsteini Mertens (Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz 2014) |
Remarks:
Previously included galeata, gehafie, olivacea, and the populations now assigned to barbata, kobe, neumanni, schweinfurthi, somalica, and variabilis (Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz 2014).
Introduced to:
Madagascar.
Distribution:
Angola,
Botswana,
Congo-Kinshasa,
Kenya,
Malawi,
Mozambique,
Namibia,
South Africa
(Limpopo,
Mpumalanga),
Tanzania,
Zambia,
Zimbabwe.
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Pelomedusa subrufa
© Henrik Bringsøe
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Pelomedusa variabilis
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West African Helmeted Turtle
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Westafrikanische Starrbrust-Pelomedusenschildkröte
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Vestafrikansk Hjelmskildpadde
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2014 | |
Pelomedusa variabilis Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Siroký & Fritz |
Distribution:
Benin,
Burkina Faso,
Cameroon,
Ghana,
Guinea,
Ivory Coast,
Liberia,
Nigeria,
Togo.
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