Black marsh turtle

Black marsh turtle
Black marsh turtle regulating body temperature in the sunlight
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Geoemydidae
Genus:	Siebenrockiella
Species:	S. crassicollis
Binomial name
Siebenrockiella crassicollis (Gray, 1831)
Distribution of Siebenrockiella crassicollis.
Synonyms[5]
Genus synonymy[3] Bellia Gray 1869 Species synonymy[4] Emys crassicollis Gray, 1831 Emys crassicolis Duméril & Bibron, 1835 (ex errore) Clemmys (Clemmys) crassicollis Fitzinger, 1835 Bellia crassicollis Gray, 1869 Bellia crassilabris Theobald, 1876 (ex errore) Pangshura cochinchinensis Tirant, 1885 Kachuga cochinchinensis Mocquard, 1907 Orlitia crassicollis Barbour, 1912 Siebenrockiella crassicollis Lindholm, 1929

Siebenrockiella crassicollis (commonly known as black marsh turtle, smiling terrapin, and Siamese temple turtle, among others) is a freshwater turtle endemic to Southeast Asia. It is one of two species classified under the genus Siebenrockiella in the family Geoemydidae.

Black marsh turtles are small to medium-sized turtles that are almost completely black except for white to yellow markings on the head. They are largely aquatic and prefer slow-moving or still bodies of water with heavy vegetation. Black marsh turtles are also commonly kept as pets and as sacred animals in Southeast Asian Buddhist temples.

They are classified as endangered by the IUCN, being one of the several Southeast Asian turtle species heavily exploited for the international wildlife trade, particularly for food and traditional medicine in the Chinese markets.