Philippine Forest Turtle - History of Discovery

History of Discovery

Philippine forest turtles were first described by the American herpetologist Edward Harrison Taylor in 1920 as Heosemys leytensis. He described them on the basis of two specimens (male and female) collected by Gregorio Lopez, allegedly from the swamps of the municipality of Cabalian in Southern Leyte (now known as the municipality of San Juan). These specimens were unfortunately destroyed in World War II during the firebombing of Manila.

No other specimens were reported until 1988 when a specimen was bought from a local resident in Taytay, Palawan. Believing that the turtle got there through interisland trade, numerous herpetologists searched Southern Leyte for other individuals. Their lack of success led to fears that the turtle was already extinct.

In 2001, during an assessment of endemic wildlife of the island of Palawan, live specimens of Philippine forest turtles were rediscovered. It soon became apparent that natural populations of the species existed in Palawan. Diesmos et al (2004) have concluded that Taylor and/or Lopez may have somehow confused the type locality of the original specimens. Lopez also collected turtle specimens from the islands of Coron and Busuanga in Palawan. Specimens from Palawan may have been mistakenly exchanged with actual specimens from Leyte (which were probably Cyclemys dentata). It is now presumed that Philippine forest turtles have never been introduced outside of Palawan, and thus were not actually from Leyte.