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Pelusios williamsi LAURENT, 1965

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Higher TaxaPelomedusidae, Pelomedusoidea, Pleurodira, Testudines (turtles)
SubspeciesPelusios williamsi williamsi LAURENT 1965
Pelusios williamsi lutescens LAURENT 1965
Pelusios williamsi laurenti BOUR 1984 
Common NamesE: Williams’ African Mud Turtle 
SynonymPelusios williamsi williamsi LAURENT 1965: 2
Pelusios williamsi — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 19
Pelusios williamsi — BROADLEY 1998
Pelusios williamsi — TTWG 2014
Pelusios williamsi — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 63
Pelusios williamsii — BEHANGANA et al. 2019
Pelusios williamsi williamsi — TTWG 2021
Pelusios williamsi — TTWG 2025

Pelusios williamsi laurenti BOUR 1984
Pelusios williamsi laurenti — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 19
Pelusios williamsi laurenti — BROADLEY & HOWELL 1991: 7
Pelusios williamsi laurenti — TTWG 2014: 440
Pelusios williamsi laurenti — TTWG 2021

Pelusios williamsi lutescens LAURENT 1965
Pelusios williamsi lutescens LAURENT 1965: 16
Pelusios williamsi lutescens — MCCORD 1965
Pelusios williamsi lutescens — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 19
Pelusios williamsi lutescens — TTWG 2014: 440
Pelusios williamsi lutescens — TTWG 2021 
DistributionKenya, Tanzania, Uganda, E Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), Upper Nile drainages about Lakes Victoria, Albert and Edward

Type locality: "Kakamega, Kaimosi, Kenya".
Type locality: Ukerewe Island, Lake Victoria, Tanzania [laurenti]  
Reproductionoviparous. 
TypesHolotype: MCZ 40021.
Holotype: MCZ 30016, female, coll. A. Loveridge, 10-20 June 1930 [laurenti] 
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 2532 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentGenBank sequences of P. williamsi were nested within P. castaneus, but the morphological distinctiveness of the two species makes it likely that the GenBank sequences (derived from a turtle from the pet trade) are misidentified (FRITZ et al. 2010).

Habitat: freshwater (Lakes, quiet rivers)

Distribution: see map in TTWG 2025. 
EtymologyNamed after Dr. Ernest Edward Williams (1914-1998), a herpetologist, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard. 
References
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • 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. 1983. Trois populations endémiques du genre Pelusios (Reptilia, Chelonii, Pelomedusidae) aux îles Seychelles; relations avec les espèces africaines et malagaches. Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris (4) 5: 343-382.
  • Bour, R. 1984. Note sur Pelusios williamsi Laurent. Rev. Française Aquariol. 11 (1): 27-32.
  • Bour, R. 2008. Global diversity of turtles (Chelonii; Reptilia) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia 595:593–598 - get paper here
  • Broadley, D. G. & HOWELL, K. M. 1991. A check list of the reptiles of Tanzania, with synoptic keys. Syntarsus 1: 1—70
  • Ernst,C.H. and Barbour,R.W. 1989. Turtles of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. - London
  • Fritz, Uwe; Vargas-Ramírez, Mario; Široký, Pavel 2012. Phylogenetic position of Pelusios williamsi and a critique of current GenBank procedures (Reptilia: Testudines: Pelomedusidae). Amphibia-Reptilia 33 (1): 150-154 - get paper here
  • Fritz, Uwe; William R. Branch, Margaretha D. Hofmeyr, Jérôme Maran, Hynek Prokop, Alfred Schleicher, Pavel Š iroký, Heiko Stuckas, Mario Vargas-Ramírez, Miguel Vences, Anna K. Hundsdörfer 2010. Molecular phylogeny of African hinged and helmeted terrapins (Testudines: Pelomedusidae: Pelusios and Pelomedusa). Zoologica Scripta DOI: 10.1111/j.1463-6409.2010.00464.x - get paper here
  • Giebner, I. & W. Helm 1997. Nachzucht der F2 - Generation von Pelusios williamsi williamsi. Sauria 19 (2): 23-28 - get paper here
  • Joyce, Walter G.; James F. Parham , Tyler R. Lyson , Rachel C. M. Warnock and Philip C. J. Donoghue 2013. A Divergence Dating Analysis of Turtles Using Fossil Calibrations: An Example of Best Practices. Journal of Paleontology, 87(4):612-634 - get paper here
  • Laurent, R.F. 1965. A contribution to the knowledge of the genus Pelusios (Wagler). Annales de Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Science Zoologique. Tervuren. Ser. 8, 135: 1-33. - get paper here
  • Lenglet,G.L. & Depiereux,E. 1986. Note sur les sous-espèces de Pelusios williamsi Laurent, 1965: apport de l’analyse discriminante. Bull. Inst. Royal Sci. Nat. Belg., Biol. 56: 75-82
  • McCord, W.P., Joseph-Ouni, M. & Bour, R. 2004. Chelonian Illustrations #17: Eastern and Southern African Mud Turtles. Reptilia (GB) (37): 73-77 - 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
  • 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
  • Witte, G. F. de & LAURENT,R.F. 1943. Contribution à la systématique des Boiginae du Congo Belge (Rept.) [and errata slip]. Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr. 37: 157-189
 
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