CreatureData

Marsh terrapin

Pelomedusa subrufa (Bonnaterre, 1789)

Status not recordedturtles and tortoises

The marsh terrapin (Pelomedusa subrufa) is a species in the family Pelomedusidae, order Testudines. Recorded adults weigh about 2.27 kg and live up to 16.4 years.

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Quick facts about the marsh terrapin

Weight
2.27 kgsrc for Weight
Length
up to 32.5 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
16.4 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
20.1 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Egg incubation
40 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
2 – 15src for Young per litter or clutch
Reproduction
Eggssrc for Reproduction
Lifestyle
Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the marsh terrapin live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the marsh terrapin as introduced in 1 country.

  1. France

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the marsh terrapin endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the marsh terrapin classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classReptilia
  4. orderTestudines
  5. familyPelomedusidae
  6. genusPelomedusa
  7. SpeciesPelomedusa subrufa (Bonnaterre, 1789)

Synonyms Pelomedusa galeata damarensis, Pelomedusa galeata wettsteini, Pelomedusa subrufa, Pelomedusa subrufa wettsteini, Pentonix americana, Pentonyx americana, Testudo badia, Testudo rubicunda, Testudo subrufa, Testudo subrufa

Other names and names in other languages (4)
  • African helmeted terrapinEnglish
  • Helmeted turtleEnglish
  • Starrbrust-PelomedusenschildkröteGerman
  • Péloméduse roussâtre (La)French

Catalogue of LifeITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMS

Relatives of the marsh terrapin

Other species in the same genus Pelomedusa.

CompareMarsh terrapin vs Arabian helmeted turtleMarsh terrapin vs Cape terrapinMarsh terrapin vs Eritrean helmeted turtleMarsh terrapin vs Tanzanian marsh terrapin

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the marsh terrapin?

An adult marsh terrapin weighs 2.27 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

How long does the marsh terrapin live?

The marsh terrapin has a recorded lifespan of 16.4 years.

Is the marsh terrapin an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the marsh terrapin as introduced in 1 country: France, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the marsh terrapin?

The marsh terrapin (Pelomedusa subrufa) belongs to the family Pelomedusidae in the order Testudines.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Marsh terrapin (Pelomedusa subrufa). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/marsh-terrapin

MLA

“Marsh terrapin (Pelomedusa subrufa).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/marsh-terrapin.

BibTeX
@misc{marsh_terrapin_2026,
  title = {Marsh terrapin (Pelomedusa subrufa)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/marsh-terrapin},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}