Pelomedusinae Cope, 1868 Pelomedusidae is a family of freshwater turtles endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, including Madagascar, São Tomé, and the Seychelles (although this population may have been introduced by humans).

[1] Pelomedusids spends most of their time in the mud at the bottom of rivers or shallow lakes, where they eat invertebrates, such as insects, mollusks, and worms.

[1] Within Pleurodira, Pelomedusidae is more closely related to the South American and Malagasy Podocnemididae than to the South American and Australian Chelidae, with the clade containing both Pelomedusidae and Podocnemididae to the exclusion of Chelidae dubbed Pelomedusoides.

[3] Pelusios seychellensis was originally described as an endemic species to the Seychelles based on Museum specimens from the 19th century.

However, mitochondrial evidence proved the specimens to actually be from P. castaneus thus revoking the species status of P.