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Cycloderma frenatum PETERS, 1854

IUCN Red List - Cycloderma frenatum - Endangered, EN
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Higher TaxaTrionychidae (Cyclanorbinae), Trionychoidea, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Zambezi Soft-shelled Turtle 
SynonymCycloderma frenatum PETERS 1854: 216
Aspidochelys livingstonii GRAY 1860: 69
Aspidochelys livingstonii — GRAY 1860: 441
Cycloderma frenatum — WERMUTH & MERTENS 1977: 102
Cycloderma frenatum — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 112
Cycloderma frenatum — BROADLEY & HOWELL 1991: 8
Cycloderma frenatum — TTWG 2014
Cycloderma frenatum — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 48
Cycloderma frenatum — TTWG 2021
Cycloderma frenatum — TTWG 2025 
DistributionTanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe

Type locality: "im fluminibus Zambeze et Licuare. . .Tette et Sena. . .in terra Boror," Zambezi River, Mozambique. Restricted to “Sambesi bei Tete” by lectotype designation (FRITZ et al. 1994).  
Reproductionoviparous. 
TypesSyntypes: ZMB 47, 49, 50, 4815, 8243, 8432 
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 2929 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentType species: Cycloderma frenatum PETERS 1854: 216 is the type species of the genus Cycloderma PETERS 1854.

Habitat: freshwater (rivers and tributaries, lakes)

Distribution: see map in TTWG 2025. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin “frenum” = bridle, as the white marking on the snake's neck reminds of a horse's bridle.

The genus was named after Greek kyklos (κύκλος), circle + Greek derma (δέρμα), skin; turtle shell. [?]. 
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.
  • Bour, R. 2008. Global diversity of turtles (Chelonii; Reptilia) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia 595:593–598 - get paper here
  • Branch, W.R.; Rödel, M.-O. & Marais, J. 2005. Herpetological survey of the Niassa Game Reserve, northern Mozambique - Part I: Reptiles. Salamandra 41 (4): 195-214 - get paper here
  • Branch, William R. 1993. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 144 S.
  • Broadley, D. G. & HOWELL, K. M. 1991. A check list of the reptiles of Tanzania, with synoptic keys. Syntarsus 1: 1—70
  • Broadley, D.G. 1962. On some reptile collections from the North-Western and North-Eastern Districts of Southern Rhodesia 1958-1961, with descriptions of four new lizards. Occ. Pap. Nat. Mus. South. Rhodesia 26 (B): 787-843
  • Buruwate, T. C., & Lloyd-Jones, D. J. 2024. Amphibian and Reptile Diversity of Niassa Special Reserve, Northern Mozambique. Journal of East African Natural History, 113(1), 1-18 - get paper here
  • Ernst,C.H. and Barbour,R.W. 1989. Turtles of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. - London
  • Fritz, U.; Obst, F.J. & Günther,R. 1994. Kritischer Typenkatalog der Schildkrötensammlung (Reptilia: Testudines) des Zoologischen Museums Berlin. [type catalogue] Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin 70: 157-175 - get paper here
  • Gray, J.E. 1860. On the African Trionyces with hidden feet (Emyda). Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) 6: 440-441 - get paper here
  • Gray, J.E. 1860. Description of a soft tortoise (Aspidochelys livingstonii) from the Zambesi, sent to the British Museum by Dr. Livingstone. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) 6: 68-69 - get paper here
  • Gray, J.E. 1860. Description of a soft tortoise (Aspidochelys livingstonii) from the Zambesi, sent to the British Museum by Dr. Livingstone. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1860: 5-6 - get paper here
  • Haagner, G.V.; Morgan, D.R. 1991. Life History Note: Cycloderma frenatum: Reproduction. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (39): 26-27 - get paper here
  • Loveridge, A. 1953. Zoological Results of a fifth expedition to East Africa. III. Reptiles from Nyasaland and Tete. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 110 (3): 142-322. - 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
  • Peters, W.C.H. 1854. Übersicht der auf seiner Reise nach Mossambique beobachteten Schildkröten. Monatsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1854: 215-216. - get paper here
  • Pietersen, Darren, Verburgt, Luke & Davies, John 2021. Snakes and other reptiles of Zambia and Malawi. Struik Nature / Penguin Random House South Africa, 376 pp., ISBN 9781775847373
  • Praschag, Reiner 2024. Halt die Klappen-Weichschildkröten: die Gattungen Cyclanorbis, Cycloderma und Lissemys Teil 1: Allgemeine Charakteristika. Elaphe 2024 (4): 12-17
  • SALES-NUNES, PEDRO M.; ANTOINE FOUQUET, FELIPE F. CURCIO, PHILIPPE J. R. KOK and MIGUEL TREFAUT RODRIGUES 2012. Cryptic species in Iphisa elegans Gray, 1851 (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) revealed by hemipenial morphology and molecular data. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 361–376 October 2012 Volume 166, Issue 2, 361-376 - 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
  • Spawls, S.; Howell, K.; Drewes, R.C. & Ashe, J. 2002. A field guide to the reptiles of East Africa. Academic Press, 543 pp. [reviews in HR 34: 396 and Afr. J. Herp. 51; 147] - get paper here
  • Spawls, Steve; Kim Howell, Harald Hinkel, Michele Menegon 2018. Field Guide to East African Reptiles. Bloomsbury, 624 pp. - get paper here
  • Sweeney, R. C. H. 1960. THE CHELONIA OF NYASALAND PROTECTORATE. The Nyasaland Journal 13 (1): 35-50 - get paper here
  • Thomson, Robert C.; Andrew M. Shedlock, Scott V. Edwards and H. Bradley Shaffer 2008. Developing markers for multilocus phylogenetics in non-model organisms: A test case with turtles. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 49 (2): 514-525 - 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
  • Utete, B. 2024. Review of the distribution, population trends, threats, and conservation options for the endangered Zambezi flapshell turtles (Cycloderma frenatum Peters, 1854) in range states. Tropical Zoology, 37(1-2) - get paper here
  • Wermuth, H., and R. Mertens. 1977. Liste der rezenten Amphibien und Reptilien. Testudines, Crocodylia, Rhynchocephalia. Das Tierreich. Berlin. 100: i-xxvii, 1-174 - get paper here
 
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