The African forest turtle (''Pelusios gabonensis'') is a species of turtle in the family Pelomedusidae. It is endemic to Africa, where it can be found in Angola,

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

, Cameroon,

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

, Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda

Description

The African forest turtle is a

side-necked turtle The Pleurodira are one of the two living suborders of turtles, the other being the Cryptodira. The division between these two suborders represents a very deep evolutionary divide between two very different types of turtles. The physical differen ...

; unable to fully withdraw their heads into their shells, they draw them to the side and fold them beneath the upper edge of their shells. This species is characterized by a flattened, brown

carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...

with a black dorsal line. The plastron hinge is located in rear position.

References

Bibliography

* * African forest turtle Reptiles of Central Africa Reptiles of Angola Vertebrates of Burundi Reptiles of Nigeria Reptiles of Tanzania Reptiles of Uganda African forest turtle Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril {{turtle-stub