Sulawesi forest turtle | |
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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] | |
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 unique clutch size, which is 1 or 2 eggs per clutch, that is significantly less than an average turtle's clutch size. [5]
The specific name, yuwonoi, is in honor of Indonesian herpetologist Frank Bambang Yuwono (born 1958). [6]
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 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]