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Pelusios subniger (BONNATERRE, 1789)

IUCN Red List - Pelusios subniger - Least Concern, LR
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Higher TaxaPelomedusidae, Pelomedusoidea, Pleurodira, Testudines (turtles)
SubspeciesPelusios subniger subniger (BONNATERRE 1789)
Pelusios subniger parietalis BOUR 1983 
Common NamesE: Pan-hinged terrapin, East African Black Mud Turtle, Black-bellied hinged terrapin 
SynonymTestudo subnigra LACÉPÈDE in BONNATERRE 1789: 30
Testudo nigricans DONNDORFF 1798
Testudo subnigra — SONNINI & LATREILLE 1802: 89
Emys castanea SCHWEIGGER 1812
Sternothaerus leachianus BELL 1825
Sternotherus Nigricans — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835: 399
Sternotherus derbianus GRAY 1844
? Sternothaerus subniger — GRAY 1863: 405
Sternotherus derbianus — GRAY 1864: 167
Sternotherus subniger — GRAY 1864: 168
Sternothaerus nigricans — BOULENGER 1889
Sternothaerus derbianus — BOULENGER 1889
Sternothaerus nigricans — TORNIER 1897: 4
Sternothaerus nigricans — ANDERSSON 1910
Sternothaerus nigricans castaneus — BARBOUR 1918: 489
Pelusios nigricans rhodesianus HEWITT 1927
Pelusios subniger — LINDHOLM 1929
Pelusios nigricans castanoides HEWITT 1931
Pelusios bechuanicus FITZSIMONS 1932
Pelusios carinatus LAURENT 1956
Pelusios subniger — AUERBACH 1987: 73
Pelusios subniger — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 20
Pelusios subniger subniger — BROADLEY & HOWELL 1991: 7
Pelusios subniger — GLAW & VENCES 1994: 228
Pelusios subniger — BROADLEY 1998
Pelusios subniger — TTWG 2014
Pelusios subniger — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 61
Pelusios subniger subniger — TTWG 2021

Pelusios subniger parietalis BOUR 1983
Pelusios subniger parietalis — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 20
Pelusios subniger parietalis — MCCORD et al. 2004
Pelusios subniger parietalis — TTWG 2014
Pelusios subniger parietalis — TTWG 2021 
DistributionBurundi, Tanzania, Mozambique, S Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), Zambia, N Botswana, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, Namibia, E Republic of South Africa,
Gloriosa Island, Madagascar, Seychelles, Sao Tome,
Gambia (MacCarty Island, HÅKANSSON 1981), Cameroon

Introduced to Mauritius, Gloriosa Isles, Diego Garcia, Chagos Archipelago, and Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles.

Type locality: Unknown; later designated as "Tamatave," on the east coast of Madagascar, by Bour (1978) and confirmed by Bour (1982).

parietalis: Seychelles Islands (Cousin Island)  
Reproduction 
TypesHolotype: MNHN-RA 8366
Holotype: MTD 33842 (given as MTKD); Paratypes: SMNS 4647.1, adult male, MTKD 33843, adult male, MNHN 19996-7801, adult male [soussensis] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (1869 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentIt remains unclear whether the introduced population on Mauritius still exists.

Please note that SAVAGE (2003) suggested to reject Lacepède’s (1788) “Histoire Naturelle des Quadrupèdes Ovipares” as a non-binominal work (Case 3226; Bull. Zool. Nom. 60 (2)). This application has been successful. The ICZN (2005) has ruled that Lacepède’s (1788) work (and all subsequent editions of this work) are rejected as an unavailable, non-binominal work.

Specimens from Guadeloupe assigned to P. subniger were actually P. castaneus according to Iverson (1992).

Type species: Testudo subnigra LACÉPÈDE in BONNATERRE 1789: 30 is the type species of the genus Pelusios WAGLER 1830. According to STEJNEGER 1902: 237, Emys castanea SCHWEIGGER 1812 and Testudo subnigra = Testudo nigricans DONNDORFF 1798 are the type species of the genus Pelusios WAGLER 1830

Habitat: freshwater (Lakes, quiet rivers) 
EtymologyThe genus is named after Greek pelos = earth, mud; an allusion to its habit of aestivating in a mud wallow (Gotch 1986). 
References
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  • Buitelaar, Krijn & Philip de Pous 2011. First record of Pelusios castanoides intergularis and rediscovery of Pelusios subniger parietalis on Cousin Island, Seychelles. Herpetology Notes 4: 009-010 - get paper here
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  • Hoffman, Dieter and Herman van der Bank 2001. Geographical Distribution. Pelusios subniger subniger (Lacépède, 1788). African Herp News (32):24 - get paper here
  • ICZN 2005. OPINION 2104 (Case 3226). Lacepède, B.G.É. de la V., 1788, Histoire Naturelle des Quadrupèdes Ovipares: rejected as a non-binominal work. Bull. Zool. Nomenclature 62 (1): 55 - get paper here
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  • Lacépède, B. G. E. 1788. Histoire Naturelle des Quadrupe des Ovipares et des Serpens. Vol.1. Imprimerie du Roi, Hôtel de Thou, Paris, xvii + 651 pp. - get paper here
  • Laurent, R.F. 1956. Contribution à l'herpetologie de la région des Grandes Lacs de l'Afrique centrale. Ann. Mus. Roy. Congo Belge (Sci. Zool.), 48: 1-390
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  • 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
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