Cycloderma frenatum
Silhouette: Armin Reindl · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The Zambezi flapshell turtle (Cycloderma frenatum) is a species of softshell turtle in the family Trionychidae). Within its family, C. frenatum belongs to the smaller, and exclusively Old World, subfamily Cyclanorbinae. C. frenatum is found in southeastern Africa, in the countries of Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, and mainly in the Zambezi basin.
C. frenatum is becoming rare due to habitat loss. Peters W (1854). "Übersicht der auf seiner Reise nach Mossambique beobachteten Schildkröten ". Bericht über die zur Bekanntmachung geeigneten Verhandlung der Königlich Preuissische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1854: 215–216. (Cycloderma frenatum, new species, p. 216). (in German and Latin). Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique |
More parks will be added in future updates.
No species of the same family or order lives in Gorongosa National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Zambezi Soft-shelled Turtle sighting in Gorongosa National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 6th most-seen of the 11 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.
February
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Zambezi Soft-shelled Turtle in Gorongosa National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June and August–December, the lowest months. That is one of Gorongosa National Park's wettest months, with about 190 mm of rain against 15 mm in May. January has too few records to rate.
Between 4 and 7 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Zambezi Soft-shelled Turtle sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Gorongosa National Park, in our data
Gorongosa National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Zambezi Soft-shelled 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 Zambezi Soft-shelled Turtle is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Gorongosa National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
