NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Senegal Soft-shelled Turtle
Cyclanorbis senegalensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1835)
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.
Photo credit to Tomas Diagne / African Chelonian Institute The United States and eight African nations have submitted a proposal to include six species of African and Middle Eastern softshell turtles in Appendix II of CITES.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters · CC BY 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Senegal flapshell turtle (Cyclanorbis senegalensis) is a species of turtle in the subfamily Cyclanorbinae of the family Trionychidae. The species, which is one of two species of softshell turtles in the genus Cyclanorbis, is endemic to Africa.
Wikipedia contributors, Senegal flapshell turtle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:59:01.699686+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cyclanorbis senegalensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1835)
- Name authority
- (Duméril & Bibron, 1835)
- Common name
- Senegal 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 senegalensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1835)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Nubian Soft-shelled TurtleCyclanorbis elegans (Gray, 1869) | 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 petersii Gray, 1855 Gray, 1855 | synonym |
| Tetrathyra baikii Gray, 1865 Gray, 1865 | synonym |
| Tetrathyra vaillantii Rochebrune, 1884 Rochebrune, 1884 | synonym |
| Cyclanosteus senegalensis var. callosa Gray, 1865 Gray, 1865 | synonym |
| Cryptopus senegalensis Duméril & Bibron, 1835 Duméril & Bibron, 1835 | synonym |
| Cyclanosteus senegalensis var. equilifera Gray, 1865 Gray, 1865 | synonym |
| Cyclanosteus senegalensis var. normalis Gray, 1865 Gray, 1865 | 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=senegalensis 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.
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:32SPK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.