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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

128 separate accounts,
173 species and subspecies covered,
plus 9 annotated checklists
(8 for modern taxa, 1 for recently extinct taxa),
by 267 contributing authors, for 2,693 total pages

Most recent update published online here on
15 March 2025

Most Recent Accounts:

Kinosternon abaxillare Baur in Stejneger 1925 –
Central Chiapas Mud Turtle, Casquito Pardo

Cuora zhoui Zhao in Zhao, Zhou, and Ye 1990 –
Zhou’s Box Turtle

Terrapene ornata (Agassiz 1857) –
Ornate Box Turtle, Plains Box Turtle, Western Box Turtle, Desert Box Turtle,
Tortuga de Caja Ornamentada

Mauremys caspica (Gmelin 1774) –
Caspian Turtle, Caspian Terrapin, West Asian Stripe-necked Terrapin (125)

Previous Recent Accounts:

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:

Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy,
Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (9th Ed.)

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:

compiled and published by the
IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG)
in collaboration with the
Turtle Conservation Fund (TCF)
and the Turtle Conservation Coalition (TCC)

4 quadrennial Top 25 Lists currently available

Latest update posted online here on
3 March 2018

Behler Turtle Conservation Award
2024 Honoree – Jeff Lovich

Honoring Excellence, Outstanding Contributions, and Leadership
in the International Chelonian Conservation and Biology Communities

The “Nobel Prize” of Turtle Conservation

Jeffrey E. Lovich

Pritchard Turtle Conservation Awards

Honoring Lifetime Achievements in Turtle Conservation and Biology

2024 Honorees

Terry E. Graham

Elliott R. Jacobson

Patricia A. Koval

Herilala J.A.R. Randriamahazo

Access our

Checklist of Extinct Pleistocene and Holocene Turtles of the World:

Turtles and Tortoises of the World During the Rise and Global Spread of Humanity:
First Checklist and Review of Extinct Pleistocene and Holocene Chelonians

by the
Turtle Extinctions Working Group
[Anders G.J. Rhodin, Scott Thomson, Georgios L. Georgalis, Hans-Volker Karl, Igor G. Danilov, Akio Takahashi,
Marcelo S. de la Fuente, Jason R. Bourque, Massimo Delfino, Roger Bour, John B. Iverson, H. Bradley Shaffer, and Peter Paul van Dijk]
of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group

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

compiled and collected by the
Turtle Taxonomy Working Group
of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group

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)