Pelomedusa barbata, 118

Pelomedusa barbata Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger,
Branch, Du Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Široký, and Fritz 2014 –
Arabian Helmeted Turtle, Arabian Marsh Turtle, Arabian Mud Turtle

Johannes Els¹, Abdulaziz R. Alqahtani², Uwe Fritz³, Mohammed Shobrak⁴,
Salem M. Busais⁵, and Bernat Burriel-Carranza⁶

¹Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife/ Environment and Protected Areas Authority,
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates [[email protected]];
²Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Bisha, Saudi Arabia [[email protected]];
³Museum of Zoology, Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden,
Dresden, Germany [[email protected]];
⁴Biology Department, Science College, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia [[email protected]];
⁵Department of Biology, Aden University, Aden, Yemen [[email protected]];
⁶Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, Barcelona, Spain [[email protected]]

Summary. – The Arabian Helmeted Turtle, Pelomedusa barbata (family Pelomedusidae), is a medium-sized, hard-shelled freshwater turtle with a carapace length of up to 216 mm, perhaps 250 mm, and an average adult weight of 800 g. It is characterized by having two small temporal scales on each side of the head and two large barbels located under the chin. The species is endemic to the Arabian Peninsula and occurs in scattered, often isolated populations throughout its range in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It occupies well-vegetated habitats at elevations from sea level to 1800  m, in basalt- and granite-rock formations that allow the accumulation of surface water within higher rainfall areas as compared to the drier interior of the Arabian Peninsula. Females lay a clutch of 6–11 leathery-shelled eggs that hatch after 50–70 days of incubation. Ontogenetic color changes occur on both the carapace and plastron. The species is threatened by overexploitation of surface water and habitat destruction and is likely to be further impacted by climate change.

Distribution. – Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Occurs in southwestern Saudi Arabia in the Asir Mountain range in Al-Behah, Asir, Jizan, and Makkah provinces, and in western and southwestern Yemen within the mountainous regions of Abyan, Adh-Dali, Al-Hudaida, Lahij, Shabwa, and Taiz governorates.

Synonymy. – Pelomedusa barbata Petzold, Vargas-Ramírez, Kehlmaier, Vamberger, Branch, Du Preez, Hofmeyr, Meyer, Schleicher, Široký, and Fritz 2014. Previously considered part of Pelomedusa subrufa (Bonnaterre 1789).

Subspecies. – No subspecies recognized.

Status. – IUCN 2021 Red List: Not Evaluated (NE); TFTSG Provisional Red List: Endangered (EN, assessed 2016); CITES: Not listed.