Pelusios bechuanicus FitzSimons, 1932

Conradie, Werner, Keates, Chad, Verburgt, Luke, Baptista, Ninda L., Harvey, James, Júlio, Timóteo & Neef, Götz, 2022, Contributions to the herpetofauna of the Angolan Okavango-Cuando-Zambezi River drainages. Part 2: Lizards (Sauria), chelonians, and crocodiles, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 322) 16 (2), pp. 181-214 : 207

Pelusios bechuanicus FitzSimons, 1932

Okavango Mud Terrapin ( Fig. 40 , Map 37)

Material (2 specimens): PEM R 27408–9, Lake Hundo, -14.97431° 21.62966°, 1,100 m asl. Description: Specimen with large carapace (235 mm; PEM R 27409) collected on the edge of a lake and a sub-adult female (123 mm; PEM R 27408) collected from the lake itself. Head black with yellow blotches; plastron and carapace uniform black; front limbs black with yellow markings; interlimb skin pale white. Habitat and natural history notes: The specimen caught alive was captured with a net while collecting fish in the deeper waters of the lake. Comment: This is only the 4 th record of this species for Angola (see Conradie et al. 2016; Marques et al. 2018). Elsewhere this species is restricted to the Okavango and Zambezi River systems ( Pietersen et al. 2021).

Figures

Fig. 40. Subadult female Pelusios bechuanicus (PEM R27408) from Lake Hundo. Photo by Werner Conradie.