Cyclanorbis

Cyclanorbis is a genus of softshell turtles in the family Trionychidae. The genus is endemic to Africa.

Cyclanorbis Temporal range: Pliocene to recent, 5.332–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Senegal flapshell turtle (C. senegalensis)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Trionychidae
Subfamily:	Cyclanorbinae
Genus:	Cyclanorbis Gray, 1854[1][2]
Synonyms[2]
Cryptopus A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1835 Cryptopodus A.H.A. Duméril, 1856 (ex errore) Cyclanosteus Gray, 1856 Tetrathyra Gray, 1865 Baikiea Gray, 1869

Description

In the genus Cyclanorbis the plastron has cutaneous flaps, under which the hind legs can be concealed.^[3]

Species

The genus Cyclanorbis contains the following extant species:^[1]

• Nubian flapshell turtle – Cyclanorbis elegans (Gray, 1869)
• Senegal flapshell turtle – Cyclanorbis senegalensis (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1835)

One extinct species is also known from fossil remains: Cyclanorbis turkanensis Meylan et al. 1990, from the Pliocene of Kenya.^[4]

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Cyclanorbis.

References

1. Rhodin et al. 2011, p. 000.204
2. Fritz & Havaš 2007, p. 312
3. Boulenger GA (1889). Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhynchocephalians, and Crocodiles in the British Museum (Natural History). New Edition. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). x + 311 pp. + Plates I–VI. (Genus Cyclanorbis, pp. 270–271).
4. "Fossilworks: Cyclanorbis turkanensis ". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.

Bibliography

• Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Iverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Roger, Bour (2011-12-31). "Turtles of the world, 2011 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status" (PDF). Chelonian Research Monographs. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-31.
• Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007-10-31). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-01. Retrieved 2010-12-29.

Further reading

• Gray JE (1854). "Description of a New Genus and some New Species of Tortoises". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1852: 133–135. (Cyclanorbis, new genus, p. 135).