Turtles of the World Checklist – 7th Edition – 2014 329 Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group A.G.J. Rhodin, P.C.H. Pritchard, P.P. van Dijk, R.A. Saumure, K.A. Buhlmann, J.B. Iverson, and R.A. Mittermeier, Eds. Chelonian Research Monographs (ISSN 1088-7105) No. 5, doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v7.2014 © 2014 by Chelonian Research Foundation • Published 16 June 2014 Turtles of the World, 7th Edition: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution with Maps, and Conservation Status TurTle Taxonomy Working group* *Authorship of this article is by this working group of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, which for the purposes of this document consisted of the following contributors: peTer paul van Dijk 1 , john B. iverson 2 , anDers g.j. rhoDin 3 , h. BraDley shaffer 4 , anD roger Bour 5 1 Co-Chair, IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, Arlington, Virginia 22202 USA [pvandijk@conservation.org]; 2 Department of Biology, Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana 47374 USA [johni@earlham.edu]; 3 Chairman Emeritus, IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, Chelonian Research Foundation, 168 Goodrich St., Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 USA [rhodincrf@aol.com] 4 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095 USA [brad.shaffer@ucla.edu]; 5 Laboratoire des Reptiles et Amphibiens, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France [bour.roger@gmail.com]; The diversity of all turtles and tortoises (chelonians) in the world that has existed in modern times (since 1500 AD), and currently generally recognized as distinct by specialists in turtle taxonomy and systematics, consists of approximately 335 species, of which 56 are polytypic, with 118 additional recognized subspecies, or 453 total taxa of modern chelonians. Of these, 8 species plus 3 subspecies, or 11 total taxa, of tortoises and freshwater aBsTracT. – This is our 7th edition of an annotated checklist of all recognized and named taxa of the world’s modern chelonian fauna, documenting recent changes and controversies in nomencla- ture through 2013, and including all primary synonyms, updated from our previous six checklists (Turtle Taxonomy Working Group 2007b, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012; Rhodin et al. 2008). We provide an updated comprehensive listing of taxonomy, names, distribution (now with maps), and conser- vation status of all turtles and tortoises of the world. We strive to record the most recent justifed taxonomic assignment of taxa in a hierarchical framework, providing annotations, including alter- native possible arrangements, for some proposed changes. We provide common English names and detailed distributional data for all taxa, listing occurrence by countries and many smaller political or geographic subunits (states or regions), including indications of native, extirpated, and intro- duced (modern or prehistoric) populations. We include current published and draft IUCN Red List status assessments for all turtles, as well as CITES listings. The diversity of turtles and tortoises in the world that has existed in modern times (since 1500 AD) and currently generally recognized as distinct and included in this checklist, now consists of 335 species. Of these, 56 are polytypic, representing 118 additional recognized subspecies, or 453 total taxa of modern turtles and tortoises. Of these, 8 species and 3 subspecies, or 11 taxa (2.4%), have gone extinct. As of the current IUCN 2013 Red List, 135 turtle species (58.7% of 230 species listed, 40.3% of all 335 recognized modern species) are offcially regarded as globally Threatened (Critically Endangered [CR], Endangered [EN], or Vulnerable [VU]). We record additional draft Red List assessments by the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG) of previously “unevaluated” species, and updated draft re-assessments of previously listed species, allowing us to evaluate the overall current threat levels for all turtles and tortoises. Of the 335 total species of turtles and tortoises, 107 (31.9%) are CR or EN, 167 (49.9%) are Threatened (CR, EN, or VU), and 175 (52.2%) are Threatened or Ex- tinct. If we provisionally adjust for predicted threat rates of Data Defcient species, then ca. 58% of all turtles are Threatened. If we include recently Extinct species, and also adjust for Data Defcient species, then ca. 60% of all modern turtles and tortoises are either already Extinct or Threatened. These numbers and percentages of threatened species have increased substantially since our last checklist. Turtles are among the most endangered of the major groups of vertebrates, surpassing birds, mammals, cartilaginous or bony fshes, and amphibians. key WorDs. – Reptilia, Testudines, turtle, tortoise, chelonian, taxonomy, nomenclature, genera, spe- cies, subspecies, primary synonyms, suprageneric hierarchy, systematics, common names, distribu- tion, introduced species, conservation status, IUCN Red List, CITES, threatened species, extinction