Conserving Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles
For all turtles, tortoises, and sea turtles as of the TTWG 2025 Checklist (see below)
As IUCN’s official Red List Authority for these species, TFTSG determines and continually updates global threat levels for every tortoise and freshwater turtle species.
Species Monographs Project
Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises (CBFTT)
Most Recent Species Accounts
-
146. Published on 10 November 2026 Sacalia bealei Beale’s Eyed Turtle Beale’s Eyed Turtle, Sacalia bealei (family Geoemydidae) is a small freshwater turtle species endemic to southeastern China. The species inhabits mountain streams with high vegetation cover, deep stream… Read More
-
145. Published on 29 October 2026 Psammobates geometricus Geometric Tortoise The Geometric Tortoise, Psammobates geometricus (family Testudinidae), is a small tortoise from southwestern South Africa (female straight-line carapace length [SCL] up to 16.5 cm, male SCL up to… Read More
-
144. Published on 23 October 2026 Pseudemys texana Texas Cooter The Texas Cooter, Pseudemys texana (family Emydidae), is a large-bodied, primarily herbivorous freshwater turtle endemic to central and south-central Texas, USA. Maximum recorded straight-line carapace length (SCL) is… Read More
Join the TFTSG
Most Recent Checklist
10th EditionTurtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status
This is our 10th edition of an annotated checklist and atlas of all recognized taxa of the world’s modern turtle and tortoise fauna, documenting recent changes and controversies through mid-2025, and including all primary synonyms, updated from nine previous checklists.…
Turtles in Trouble
Current Edition · July 2025
Turtles in Trouble spotlights the world’s most endangered tortoises and freshwater turtles — a periodically updated assessment, compiled by the Turtle Conservation Coalition, of the species at greatest risk of extinction. Each edition draws on the expertise of specialists worldwide to focus conservation attention where it is most urgently needed.
Award Honorees – 2026
Behler Award
Sabine Schoppe
Dr. Sabine Schoppe is a German conservation biologist whose career spans more than three decades of wildlife research and conservation in the Philippines. After earning her Ph.D. in Biology from the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany, she moved to the Philippines in 1995, where…
Key Partners
