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Cyclanorbis elegans (GRAY, 1869)

IUCN Red List - Cyclanorbis elegans - Critically Endangered, CR
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Higher TaxaTrionychidae (Cyclanorbinae), Trionychoidea, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Nubian Soft-shelled Turtle 
SynonymBaikiea elegans GRAY 1869
Cyclanorbis elegans — BOULENGER 1889
Cyclanorbis oligotylus SIEBENROCK 1902: 290
Cyclanorbis oligotylus — SIEBENROCK 1905
Cyclanorbis elegans — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 113
Cyclanorbis elegans — MCCORD & JOSEPH-OUNI 2003
Cyclanorbis elegans — TTWG 2014
Cyclanorbis elegans — TTWG 2021
Cyclanorbis elegans — TTWG 2025 
DistributionSudan (Jumhūriyyat), Republic of South Sudan (RSS), Chad, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Benin, Nigeria, Togo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea

Type locality: "Africa"; restricted by Webb (1975) to the "Niger River drainage in West Africa".  
Reproductionoviparous. 
TypesLectotype: BMNH 1946.1.22.15 designated lectotype by Webb 1975; paralectotypes: BMNH 1946.1.22.15, 1947.3.6.26, 1947.3.6.27, 1947.3.6.28, and 1947.3.6.29 
DiagnosisUnfortunately 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 2021 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentDistribution: For a map with localities in Equatorial Guinea see SÁNCHEZ-VIALAS et al. 2022. See also map in Mazuch et al. 2016: 2 (Fig. 1). Central African Republic, Cameroon, Benin, Nigeria, and Ethiopia are not mentioned as distribution areas in MCCORD & JOSEPH-OUNI 2003.

The illustrations of Cyclanorbis elegans and C. senegalensis in WERMUTH & MERTENS (1961) are copies of those in Loveridge and Williams (1957), but the skull legends for Figs 181e and 182d in W&M are reversed; their skull drawings of C. elegans (p. 250, Fig. 181e) represent C. senegalensis, and those of C. senegalensis (p. 252, Fig. 182d) represent C. elegans.

Habitat: freshwater (rivers and tributaries, lakes) 
EtymologyThe name elegans (Latin) means tasteful, choice, fine, select or elegant. 
References
  • Bonin, F., Devaux, B. & Dupré, A. 2006. Turtles of the World. English translation by P.C.H. Pritchard. Johns Hopkins University Press, 416 pp.
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1889. Catalogue of the chelonians, rhynchocephalians, and crocodiles in the British Museum (Natural History). British Museum, London, 311 pp. - get paper here
  • Bour, R. 2008. Global diversity of turtles (Chelonii; Reptilia) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia 595:593–598 - get paper here
  • Chirio, L. & Lebreton, M. 2007. Atlas des reptiles du Cameroun. MNHN, IRD, Paris 688 pp.
  • Demaya, Gift Simon; John Sebit Benansio, Thomas Francis Lado, Salah Khatir Jubarah, John Leju Celestino Ladu & Luca Luiselli 2019. Local Ecological Knowledge in South Sudan Can Help Conservation and Management of Cyclanorbis elegans. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Dec 2019 Vol. 18, No. 2: 259-264 - get paper here
  • Demaya, Gift Simon; John Sebit Benansio, Thomas Francis Lado, Tomas Diagne, Daniele Dendi & Luca Luiselli 2019. Rediscovery of the Nubian Flapshell Turtle (Cyclanorbis elegans) in South Sudan. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Jun 2019 Vol. 18, No. 1: 62-67 - get paper here
  • Ernst,C.H. and Barbour,R.W. 1989. Turtles of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. - London
  • Gemel, R.; G. Gassner & S. Schweiger 2019. Katalog der Typen der Herpetologischen Sammlung des Naturhistorischen Museums Wien – 2018. Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien, B 121: 33–248 - get paper here
  • Gray, J.E. 1869. Notes on the families and genera of tortoises (Testudinata), and on the characters afforded by the study of their skulls. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1869: 165-225. - get paper here
  • Hoinsoude-Segniagbeto, Gabriel; Roger Bour, Annemarie Ohler, Alain Dubois, Mark-Oliver Rödel, Jean François Trape, Jacques Fretey, Fabio Petrozzi, and Luca Luiselli 2014. Turtles and Tortoises of Togo: Historical Data, Distribution, Ecology, and Conservation. Chelonian Conservation and Biology Dec 2014, Vol. 13, No. 2: 152-165. - get paper here
  • Hughes, B. 1979. Occurrence of the freshwater trionychid turtles Cyclanorbis elegans and C. senegalensis in Ghana. Bull. IFAN 41 (sér. 1, 1): 193-205
  • Mazuch T, Trailin V, Fritz U, and Vamberger M. 2016. Senegal Flapshell Turtle (Cyclanorbis senegalensis) in Ethiopia (Testudines: Trionychidae). Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 10(2) [Special Section]: 1–5 (e125) - get paper here
  • McCord, W.P. & Joseph-Ouni, M. 2003. Chelonian Illustrations #6. Flapshell and Giant Asian Softshell Turtles. Reptilia (GB) (26): 59-64 - get paper here
  • McGovern, P., & Luiselli, L. 2023. Knowledge gaps and conservation priorities for west African chelonians,. Amphibia-Reptilia 44 (2): 121-137 - get paper here
  • Praschag, Reiner 2024. Halt die Klappen-Weichschildkröten: die Gattungen Cyclanorbis, Cycloderma und Lissemys Teil 1: Allgemeine Charakteristika. Elaphe 2024 (4): 12-17
  • SÁNCHEZ-VIALAS, A., CALVO-REVUELTA, M. & DE LA RIVA, I. 2022. Synopsis of the terrestrial Reptiles of Equatorial Guinea. Zootaxa 5202 (1): 1-197 - get paper here
  • Siebenrock, F. 1902. Zur Systematik der Schildkrotenfamilie Trionychidae Bell nebst der Beschreibung einer neuen CycIanorbis-Art. Anzeiger der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe, Wien 39: 289-291 - get paper here
  • Siebenrock, F. 1902. Zur Systematik der Schildkrötenfamilie Trionychidae Bell, nebst der Beschreibung einer neuen Cyclanorbis - Art. Sitzungsber. K. Akad. Wiss. Wien. Math-Naturwiss. Cl. 111: 807-846 - get paper here
  • Siebenrock, F. 1905. Chelonologische Notizen. Zool. Anz. 29: 460-468 - get paper here
  • Spawls, Stephen; Tomáš Mazuch & Abubakr Mohammad 2023. Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of North-east Africa. Bloomsbury, 640 pp. - get paper here
  • Trape, J.F.; Trape, S. & Chirio, L. 2012. Lézards, crocodiles et tortues d'Afrique occidentale et du Sahara. IRD Orstom, 503 pp. - get paper here
  • TTWG [Peter Paul van Dijk, John B. Iverson, Anders G.J. Rhodin, H. Bradley Shaffer, and Roger Bour] 2014. Turtles of the World, 7th Edition: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution with Maps, and Conservation Status. 000.v7. Chelonian Research Monographs (ISSN 1088-7105) No. 5, doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v7.2014 - get paper here
  • TTWG [TURTLE TAXONOMY WORKING GROUP: RHODIN, A.G.J., IVERSON, J.B., FRITZ, U., GALLEGO-GARCÍA, N., GEORGES, A., SHAFFER, H.B., AND VAN DuK, P.P.]. 2025. Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (10th Ed.). In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., van Dijk, P.P., Stanford, C.B., Goode, E.V., Buhlmann, K.A., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs 10:1-575 - get paper here
  • TTWG; Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., Bour, R., Fritz, U., Georges, A., Shaffer, H.B., and van Dijk, P.P. 2021. Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (9th Ed.). In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., van Dijk, P.P., Stanford, C.B., Goode, E.V., Buhlmann, K.A., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs 8:1–472. doi:10.3854/crm.8.checklist.atlas.v9.2021. - get paper here
  • Webb, R.G. 1975. Types of two names of African softshell turtles of the genus Cyclanorbis (Testudines: Trionychidae). Herpetologica 31: 348-350. - get paper here
  • Webb, R.G. 2004. Trionychid turtle miscellany. Hamadryad 28 (1&2): 119-121 - get paper here
 
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