NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Nubian Soft-shelled Turtle
Cyclanorbis elegans (Gray, 1869)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Nubian flapshell turtle or Nubian soft-shelled turtle (Cyclanorbis elegans) is one of two species of softshell turtle in the genus Cyclanorbis of the Trionychidae family. It is thought to have ranged from West Africa east through Central Africa to South Sudan, although it has been extirpated from the vast majority of its range.
Wikipedia contributors, Nubian flapshell turtle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:40:21.645199+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cyclanorbis elegans (Gray, 1869)
- Name authority
- (Gray, 1869)
- Common name
- Nubian Soft-shelled Turtle
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Testudines
- Family
- Trionychidae
- Genus
- Cyclanorbis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderTestudines Batsch, 1788
- suborderCryptodira
- superfamilyTrionychoidea
- familyTrionychidae
- genusCyclanorbis
- speciesCyclanorbis elegans (Gray, 1869)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cyclanorbis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Senegal Soft-shelled TurtleCyclanorbis senegalensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1835) | TrionychidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Cyclanorbis oligotylus Siebenrock, 1902 Siebenrock, 1902 | synonym |
| Baikiea elegans Gray, 1869 Gray, 1869 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Cyclanorbis&species=elegans Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:32SPG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.