Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group
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The Mission of the
IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG)
is to identify and document threats to the survival of
all species of tortoises and freshwater turtles,
and to help catalyze conservation action
to ensure that none become extinct
and that sustainable populations of all species
persist in the wild.
Tortoises in the Mist
Galapagos Giant Tortoises, Chelonoidis vicina,
on the rim of Volcan Alcedo, Galápagos, Ecuador.
Photo by Peter C.H. Pritchard
Access the latest updates to our massive
CBFTT Monograph Project:
Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises
Published by Chelonian Research Foundation and Turtle Conservancy
126 separate accounts,
171 species and subspecies covered,
plus 9 annotated checklists
(8 for modern taxa, 1 for recently extinct taxa),
by 260 contributing authors, for 2,664 total pages
Most recent update published online here on
16 October 2024
Graptemys pseudogeographica (Gray 1831) – False Map Turtle, Mississippi Map Turtle (124)
Rhinoclemmys annulata (Gray 1860) – Brown Wood Turtle, Montañero, Bambera (123)
Testudo marginata Schoepff 1793 –
Marginated Tortoise, Kraspedochelóna, Breshka Malore, Testuggine Marginata (122)
Kinosternon flavescens – Yellow Mud Turtle, Casquito Amarillo (121)
Testudo graeca (Eastern Subspecies Clades) –
Armenian Tortoise, Zagros Tortoise, Anatolian Tortoise, Levantine Tortoise, Kerman Tortoise (120)
Kinosternon sonoriense – Sonora Mud Turtle (119)
Pelomedusa barbata – Arabian Helmeted Turtle (118)
Testudo graeca (Western Subspecies Clade) – Mediterranean Spur-thighed Tortoise (117)
Access the latest update of our
Checklist of Turtles of the World:
by the
Turtle Taxonomy Working Group
of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group
Anders G.J. Rhodin, John B. Iverson, Roger Bour, Uwe Fritz,
Arthur Georges, H. Bradley Shaffer, and Peter Paul van Dijk
9 annotated checklists currently available
(8 in the CBFTT monograph project)
Latest update published online here on
15 November 2021
Access the latest update to our
“Turtles in Trouble” reports on the
World’s 25+ Most Endangered Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles:
4 quadrennial Top 25 Lists currently available
Latest update posted online here on
3 March 2018
Behler Turtle Conservation Award
2024 Honoree – Jeff Lovich
The “Nobel Prize” of Turtle Conservation
Pritchard Turtle Conservation Awards
Honoring Lifetime Achievements in Turtle Conservation and Biology
Checklist of Extinct Pleistocene and Holocene Turtles of the World:
1 annotated checklist currently available
Published online here on
16 April 2015
Access the latest updates to our
TFTSG Turtle Taxonomy Literature Database:
Turtles of the World:
Online Turtle Taxonomic Literature Database and PDF Library
958 turtle PDF’s currently available,
Latest additions posted online here on
29 July 2019
PDF’s added in 2013–2019 are marked
(Banner photo: Malayan Snail-eating Turtle, Malayemys macrocephala, from Thailand; photo by Peter Paul van Dijk)