Pelusios hyneki ŠIROKÝ & FRITZ, 2025
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Pelusios hyneki
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| Higher Taxa | Pelomedusidae, Pelomedusoidea, Pleurodira, Testudines (turtles) |
| Subspecies | Pelusios hyneki hyneki ŠIROKÝ & FRITZ 2025 Pelusios hyneki tanganyika ŠIROKÝ & FRITZ 2025 |
| Common Names | E: Hynek’s hinged terrapin E: Tanganyika hinged terrapin [tanganyika] |
| Synonym | Pelusios hyneki hyneki ŠIROKÝ & FRITZ in ŠIROKÝ et al. 2025: 309 Pelusios subniger — FRITZ et al. 2013, partim Pelusios subniger — TTWG 2017 Pelusios subniger — TTWG 2021 Pelusios subniger — TTWG 2025 Pelusios hyneki tanganyika ŠIROKÝ & FRITZ in ŠIROKÝ et al. 2025: 311 Sternothaerus nigricans — STERNFELD & NIEDEN 1911 (non Testudo nigricans DONNDORF 1798) |
| Distribution | Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire) Type locality: vicinity of Luena (approx. -9.4409, 25.7894), Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. National Museum Prague (NMP-P6V 74976/2), adult female in alcohol, leg. Hynek Prokop, 2014 (Fig. 6). Paratypes. National Museum Prague (NMP-P6V 74975, NMP-P6V 74976/1), adult female and subadult of unknown sex; Museum of Zoology, Senckenberg Dresden (MTD 49501, MTD 49502), subadult of unknown sex and adult male, all same data as the holotype. Holotype. Zoologische Staatssammlung München (ZSM 106/1960), subadult female in alcohol, Lake Manyara, Mbugwe (-3.5972, 35.8664), Tanzania, leg. Johann Popp, 22 April 1960 (Fig. 7). Paratype. Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (ZMB 22828), subadult of unknown sex in alcohol, “Unika, Bezirk Langenburg, D.O. Afrika” (= Unyika, Mbeya District, Tanzania, approx. -8.8900, 33.4651), Hauptmann a. D. Paul Fromm, April 1909. [tanganyika] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A species closely related to Pelusios bechuanicus, P. upembae, and P. subniger sensu stricto. Pelusios hyneki sp. nov. resembles P. subniger sensu stricto and differs from P. bechuanicus and P. upembae in the presence of a characteristic constriction of the plastral hindlobe near the bridge region along the abdominal-femoral seam, resulting in an outwards curved contour of the femoral scutes and a pronounced incision between the femoral and anal scutes. Furthermore, P. hyneki sp. nov. differs from P. bechuanicus and P. upembae in the distinctly lighter plastral coloration with more or less extensive brownish suffusions that may cover much of the horn-colored or yellow plastron (completely or nearly completely black plastron in P. bechuanicus and P. upembae). Pelusios hyneki sp. nov. differs from P. bechuanicus also in the absence of a conspicuous symmetrical coarse and contrasting yellow head pattern. Pelusios hyneki sp. nov. differs from P. subniger sensu stricto in its diffuse brownish plastral pattern instead of a contrasting blotched pattern. The nominotypical subspecies Pelusios h. hyneki sp. et subsp. nov. differs from P. h. tanganyika subsp. nov. genetically both with respect to mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers and in its allopatric distribution. A selection of diagnostic sites for the mitochondrial cyt b and ND4 genes is listed in Table 2. (ŠIROKÝ & FRITZ 2025) Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 3906 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after the late Hynek Prokop (1972–2023) who devoted much of his live to keeping and breeding Pelusios species. P. h. tanganyika was named after the continental part of Tanzania (Tanganyika) from which the taxon is described. |
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