habitat_narrative

Freshwater (=Inland waters)

Occurs in fresh or stagnant waterbodies, including seasonal pans, flooded quarries and farm dams, and avoids mountainous terrain and forests (Boycott and Bourquin 2000). The species’ range in South Africa receives summer rains with annual precipitation between 500 and 1,000 mm. Mean annual temperature is in excess of 20 °C and there is no occurrence of frost (Schulze 1997). It appears if Pelomedusa subrufa can cope with arid conditions in Namibia, where they have been found in the mouths of temporary streams (so-called rivers) in the Namib Desert (Branch 2008, Boycott and Bourquin 2008, vouchers in the Museum fur Naturkunde, Berlin). It is well known that Namibian terrapins burrow underground during dry periods, and if there is no rain, they may survive up to six years underground (A. Schleicher pers. obs., Omaheke, Namibia).