THE PHILIPPINE 
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 
VOL. 16 
FEBRUARY, 1920 
No. 2 
PHILIPPINE TURTLES 
By Edward H. Taylor 
Of the Bureau of Science, Manila 
SEVEN PLATES 
INTRODUCTION 
As compared with Borneo, Java, Sumatra, or Japan, the 
Philippine Islands are not rich in either genera or species of 
terrestrial turtles. In fact only three genera, represented by 
four species, are positively known; these are Cyclemys, Heose- 
mys, and Pelochelys. Several species representative of other 
genera have been reported, but there appears to be no specimen 
to substantiate any of the records. Borneo has representatives 
of nine genera and about fifteen species; Java, seven genera and 
nine species; Sumatra, ten genera and thirteen species; Japan 
and Formosa, six genera and seven species. On the other hand 
only two genera and two species are known from Celebes. 
One new species, Heosemys leytensis, from the southern part 
of Leyte, is described in this paper. Two specimens were col- 
lected there by Gregorio Lopez, together with other turtles to be 
used for dissecting in the zoological department of the Univer- 
sity of the Philippines. He obtained forty specimens belonging 
to three species; namely, Cyclemys dhor, C. amboinensis, and 
Heosemys leytensis. It would appear that these land turtles are 
plentiful in that locality. In most localities they are rare; in 
collecting during seven years I have found less than a half dozen 
specimens, all of which belonged to Cyclemys amboinensis. 
According to Manobo accounts a large turtle with a hard 
shell occurs in Agusan River. Rewards offered for specimens 
failed to bring forth this turtle; nevertheless, it is extremely 
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