Sulawesi Forest Turtle

The Sulawesi forest turtle is a large geoemydid with a relatively low, orange-brown shell bearing three lengthwise keels. Its lower shell is unhinged and lacks streaking, while the front and rear throat-scute margins are nearly parallel. Other diagnostic features include a long seam between the anal scutes, a strong bony bridge, a hooked beak and head colours that differ between the sexes (Reptile Database diagnosis; McCord and colleagues 1995).

Leucocephalon yuwonoi is endemic to Sulawesi and occurs in freshwater rivers and swamps. The type locality is near Gorontalo on the Minahassa Peninsula. The genus name means white head, referring to the often pale head colour, while the species honours Indonesian biologist Frank Bambang Yuwono. The opened catalogue did not provide direct diet, activity, adult shell length, clutch size or incubation values (Reptile Database; published natural-history references listed there).