The African pelomedusa is a medium-sized freshwater turtle with a large head. It lives in rivers, ponds, and temporary water bodies in Africa south of the Sahara.
The African pelomedusa is distinguished by its ability to live without water for a long time by burying in silt during drought. It is important for nature because it cleans water bodies from carrion and regulates the number of insects and small animals.
meadows, prairies, forb glades on land
Worker
birth time
Hot and almost no precipitation
Heavy rains in summer
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
very heavy rains in summer, almost no precipitation in winter
adult
Maturity
fish of small size
insects
About health
Warm or hot summer and rains
anything
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
carrion
Repro interval
results
summer warm, winter not very cold
Carapace size
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
scavenging, eat already dead animals
Gremllins
mo
hot, rains in summer, little precipitation in winter
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
rains are very rare, almost a desert
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
Trophic type
Filters
small fish
summer very hot, dry, lots of grass
Tail count
Upcoming birthdays
standing fresh waters — lakes, ponds, oxbow lakes
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Hot, little precipitation in winter
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
algae
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
Egg shell count
Carapace color
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
swampy freshwater biotopes — peat bogs, marshes, river mangroves
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
Freshwater
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
Pets
all rivers and lakes
Head count
Hot steppe
{name} jubilee
cm
tadpoles and frog larvae
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
desert and semi-desert
turns
Rascals
terrestrial grassland and steppe
terrestrial herbaceous
Tail color
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Tropical savanna
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Limbs count
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Where are they found?
all rivers and lakes
Low precipitation in winter
Locomotion through water employed while searching for or capturing prey.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
lakes and ponds
freshwater marsh and wetlands
Taxons
freshwater pelagic
rivers and streams
if born as {name}
omnivore
age
birth date
swimming
arid terrestrial biotopes with sparse vegetation
Close
Egg shell color
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
teeth
burrow
Potential Habitat
lots of grass, few trees, rains are rare
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Feeding occurs in water bodies such as rivers, lakes, or oceans.
Mass
Plastron color
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
Gestation
from 130 grams to 0.5 kilograms, 0.35 – 0.8 meters
aquatic
{name} birthday
Always hot
No results found
omnivory, they eat plants, animals, and mushrooms — almost any food
On the map
lunge
all life stages
Female ♀
world of Afrotropics
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
open water in the water column of a freshwater body, away from the bottom and shore
birth year
Maturity
lots of rain, summer from warm to very hot
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
Plastron count
sq mm
yr
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
baby / chick
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Very dry
Neither
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
from birth to death
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
world of Afrotropics
Freshwater
Duration
live insects
This is me
Steppe
freshwater
Gamers
aquatic plants and algae
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
terrestrial
tadpoles
Limbs color
Carapace count
Asexual
swap
freshwater environment — rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps
active predation
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Warm summer and lots of rain
Head color
celebrated their {n} birthday
open grassy spaces — steppes, savannas, prairies
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
very hot all year round, frequent rains, but sometimes dry
flowing fresh waters — rivers, streams, mountain torrents
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
very hot and almost no precipitation
Hermaphrodite ⚥
embryo
Zucchini
Length
kg
lots of rain, warm and pleasant summer
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
Observations
◉{N} more on tap