Pelusios castaneus
Silhouette: Day & Haghe · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The West African mud turtle (Pelusios castaneus), also known as the West African side-necked turtle or swamp terrapin, is a species of turtle in the family Pelomedusidae. Pelusios castaneus is a freshwater species and is endemic to West and Central Africa.
The so-called Seychelles black terrapin, Seychelles mud turtle, or Seychelles terrapin was considered a species of turtle (Pelusios seychellensis) in the family Pelomedusidae, endemic to Seychelles. Genetic analysis of the lectotype has shown, however, that this turtle was never a separate species, and is in fact Pelusios castaneus.
It is possible that specimens were confused in a private collection before being acquired by the Zoological Museum Hamburg in 1901, or else mislabeled there. The West African mud turtle is found in the following countries of West and Central Africa: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Togo. Additionally, it has been introduced to Guadeloupe.
The West African... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lagos | 🇳🇬 Nigeria |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Colchester Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Ueno Zoological Gardens (West Garden) | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 4 | Gambia Reptile Farm | 🇬🇲 Gambia | |
| 5 | Planet Ocean Montpellier | 🇫🇷 France |
No species of the same family or order lives in Lagos, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a West African Mud Turtle sighting in Lagos on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 8th most-seen of the 8 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and October
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a West African Mud Turtle in Lagos on a given day, against under 5% in February–May, September and November–December, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most West African Mud Turtle sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Lagos, in our data
Lagos is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate West African Mud Turtle sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the West African Mud Turtle is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Lagos (5 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
