Data from: A revision of African helmeted terrapins (Testudines: Pelomedusidae: Pelomedusa), with descriptions of six new species

Using nearly range-wide sampling, we analyze up to 1848 bp of mitochondrial DNA of 183 helmeted terrapins and identify a minimum of 12 deeply divergent species-level clades. Uncorrected p distances of these clades equal or clearly exceed those between the currently recognized species of Pelusios, the genus most closely related to Pelomedusa. We correlate genetic discontinuities of Pelomedusa with data on morphology and endoparasites and describe six new Pelomedusa species. Moreover, we restrict the name Pelomedusa subrufa (Bonnaterre, 1789) to one genetic lineage and resurrect three further species from its synonymy, namely P. galeata (Schoepff, 1792), P. gehafie (Rüppell, 1835), and P. olivacea (Schweigger, 1812). In addition to these ten Pelomedusa species, we identify two further clades from Cameroon and Sudan with similar levels of genetic divergence that remain unnamed candidate species. We also note that some problematical terrapins from South Africa and Somalia may represent two additional candidate species. Some of the Pelomedusa species are morphologically distinctive, whilst others can only be identified by molecular markers and are therefore morphologically cryptic taxa.

本研究采用近乎物种分布全域的采样策略，对183只头盔侧颈龟（helmeted terrapins）的最长达1848 bp的线粒体DNA（mitochondrial DNA）片段展开分析，鉴定出至少12个深度分化的物种级进化支。这些进化支的未校正p距离等于或显著高于当前公认的非洲侧颈龟属（Pelusios）各物种间的遗传距离——该属与侧颈龟属（Pelomedusa）亲缘关系最为密切。研究团队将侧颈龟属（Pelomedusa）的遗传间断性与形态学及体内寄生虫数据进行关联，描述了6个侧颈龟属新物种。此外，我们将红腹侧颈龟（Pelomedusa subrufa (Bonnaterre, 1789)）这一学名限定至单个遗传支系，并从其同物异名中恢复3个有效物种，分别为盔侧颈龟（P. galeata (Schoepff, 1792)）、盖哈菲侧颈龟（P. gehafie (Rüppell, 1835)）以及橄榄侧颈龟（P. olivacea (Schweigger, 1812)）。除上述10个侧颈龟属物种外，本研究还在喀麦隆与苏丹境内发现另外2个遗传分化水平相当的进化支，暂定为未命名的候选物种。同时，我们注意到部分采自南非与索马里的存疑侧颈龟个体，可能代表另外2个候选物种。部分侧颈龟属物种具有独特的形态特征，而其余物种仅能通过分子标记进行鉴别，因此属于形态隐存类群。