EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Turtle With a Helmet

African Helmeted Turtle (Pelomedusa subrufa), Family Pelomedusidae
Masai Mara, Kenya

Explanation:  Although not particularly visible in this week's photo, this terrapin really doesn't sport a helmet on its head, although its name is indeed the African helmeted turtle. 

It is the only member of its family Palomedusidae that lacks a hinge in the lower shell (the plastron) that other species use to close up tight to outside intruders and predator threats.  

Further, it is the only species of its genus Pelomedusa, and the species is described with three subspecies.  

Widely distributed in Africa, the African helmeted turtle is also known as the marsh terrapin.  It inhabits, well, marshes ... and other wetlands, and may bury in the bottom mud when its pools dry up seasonally.