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.

Chelonian Biodiversity and Conservation Department of Biodiversity and Conservation Biology University of the Western Cape Private Bag X17 Bellville 7535 South Africa; Email unknown

Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Palackého tř 1 3 612 42 Brno Czech Republic; Email unknown

Department of Herpetology Port Elizabeth Museum P O Box 13147 Humewood 6013 South Africa Department of Zoology P O Box 77000 Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Port Elizabeth 6031 South Africa; Email unknown

Department of Herpetology Port Elizabeth Museum P O Box 13147 Humewood 6013 South Africa; Email unknown

Museum of Zoology Senckenberg Dresden A B Meyer Building 01109 Dresden Germany; Email unknown

P O Box 30566 Windhoek Namibia; Email unknown

Unit for Environmental Science and Management North West University Potchefstroom Campus Private Bag X6001 Potchefstroom 2520 South Africa; Email unknown

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