Sulawesi forest turtle

Sulawesi forest turtle
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Geoemydidae
Subfamily:	Geoemydinae
Genus:	Leucocephalon McCord, Iverson, Spinks & Shaffer, 2000
Species:	L. yuwonoi
Binomial name
Leucocephalon yuwonoi (McCord, Iverson & Boeadi, 1995)
Synonyms[3][4]
Geoemyda yuwonoi McCord, Iverson & Boeadi, 1995 Heosemys yuwonoi — Fritz & Obst, 1996 Leucocephalon yuwonoi — McCord, Iverson, Spinks & Shaffer, 2000 Notochelys yuwonoi — Artner, 2008 Leucocephalon yuwonoi — TTWG, 2014

The Sulawesi forest turtle (Leucocephalon yuwonoi) is a critically endangered species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. The species is monotypic within the genus Leucocephalon.^[3] It is endemic to Sulawesi in Indonesia. These turtles have a very unique clutch size, which is 1 or 2 eggs per clutch, that is significantly less than an average turtle's clutch size. ^[5]

Etymology

The specific name, yuwonoi, is in honor of Indonesian herpetologist Frank Bambang Yuwono (born 1958).^[6]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of L. yuwonoi are freshwater swamps and rivers.^[1][4] They also prefer a heavily covered area rather than a more open area. They like broadleaf canopy cover and deeper ground cover. ^[7]

Conservation

Conservation methods are very important with species, due to very low numbers in this species and with people destroying their habitats for agriculture purposes. ^[8] As of 2016 The Riverview Zoo in Peterborough, Ontario, had managed to hatch two Sulawesi forest turtles.^[9] As of 2022, there are only a few captive populations where we have been able to gain an understanding of Sulawesi forest turtles.^[7]

See also

• Forsten's tortoise (Indotestudo forstenii) – another threatened turtle endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia.

References

1. Stanford, C.B.; Hamidy, A. (2021). "Leucocephalon yuwonoi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T40761A2933851. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T40761A2933851.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
3. Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 226–227. doi:10.3897/vz.57.e30895. ISSN 1864-5755. S2CID 87809001.
4. Species Leucocephalon yuwonoi at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
5. Ives, I. E., S. G. Platt, J. S. Tasirin, I. Huwowu, S. Siwu, and T. R. Rainwater. 2008. Field surveys, natural history observations, and comments on the exploitation and conservation of Indotestudo forstenii, Leucocephalon yuwonoi, and Cuora amboinensis in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 7:240–248
6. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Leucocephalon yuwonoi, p. 292).
7. Simms, Angela, et al. "Preliminary Insights on the Spatial Ecology, Population Demography, and Sexual Dimorphism of the Critically Endangered Sulawesi Forest Turtle (Leucocephalon yuwonoi)." Journal of Herpetology 56.4 (2022): 461-469.
8. Riyanto, A. 2006. Notes on exploitation, population status, distribution, and natural history of the Sulawesi forest turtle (Leucocephalon yuwonoi) in North Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 5:320–323
9. "A Sulawesi Forest Turtle Hatched at Riverview Park & Zoo". 14 November 2016.

Further reading

• Artner H (2008). "The world's extant turtle species, Part 1". Emys 15 (3): 4–32. (Notochelys yuwonoi, new combination, p. 10).
• Fritz U, Obst FJ (1996). "Zur Kenntnis der Celebes-Erdschildkröte, Heosemys yuwonoi (McCord, Iverson & Boeadi, 1995)". Herpetofauna 18 (102): 27–34. (Heosemys yuwonoi, new combination). (in German).
• McCord WP, Iverson JB, Boeadi [B] (1995). "A New Batagurid Turtle from Northern Sulawesi, Indonesia". Chelonian Conservation and Biology 1 (4): 311–316. (Geoemyda yuwonoi, new species).
• McCord WP, Iverson JB, Spinks, Shaffer HB (2000). "A new genus of geoemydid turtle from Asia". Hamadryad 25 (2): 20–24. (Leucocephalon, new genus; L. yuwonoi, new combination).