Leucocephalon yuwonoi (McCord, Iverson, and Boeadi 1995) - Sulawesi Forest Turtle, Kura-Kura Sulawesi

Cris Hagen¹, Steven G. Platt², and Charles J. Innis³

¹Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA
²Department of Biology, Box C-64, Sul Ross State University, Alpine, TX 79832, USA
³New England Aquarium, Central Wharf, Boston, MA 02110, USA

Abstract: The Sulawesi forest turtle, Leucocephalon yuwonoi (Family Geoemydidae), is one of the world's most enigmatic and poorly known turtles; there are few observations from the wild and its life history remains virtually unstudied. The species is a moderate-sized (carapace length to 278 mm), semi-aquatic omnivorous turtle, that lays one or occasionally two large eggs in each clutch. First purchased from local people in Gorontalo in northern Sulawesi during the late 1980s, large numbers appeared in the commercial turtle trade to China in the early 1990s, and the species was formally described in 1995. The species is endemic to the Central, Gorontalo, and North Sulawesi provinces. Owing to its limited geographic distribution and low fecundity, as well as extensive and unsustainable exploitation for the food and pet trade and substantial habitat loss, we regard L. yuwonoi as a species of grave international conservation concern. Unresolved husbandry problems make captive propagation problematic.