Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle
Specialist Group
TFTSG Membership
The TFTSG currently has 237 members from 43 nations who work or focus their efforts in 102 nations.
(For global maps of where TFTSG members live, work or focus, click here)
Membership in the TFTSG is by invitation only, based on experience, expertise,
and leadership in freshwater turtle or tortoise conservation and/or biology.
Please contact Anders Rhodin if you would like to be considered for TFTSG membership. We are especially interested in new members from nations under-represented in the membership, and who are focused on scientific research and/or conservation efforts for tortoises and/or freshwater turtles. We are always interested in new members with turtle and/or tortoise expertise and a passion for their conservation. Turtles are in serious trouble and need all the help they can get. If you feel that you are interested and would like to contribute to our work, please contact us. Although membership is considered an honor earned, it is also a responsibility to participate and to contribute actively to our turtle conservation efforts. We focus primarily on scientific evaluations of status and threats analysis, and help to catalyze conservation action, while avoiding non-scientific advocacy. For more detailed information on the work and activities of the TFTSG, see this link.
For a short history of the TFTSG and its former leadership, click here.
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TFTSG Executive Committee:
Anders G.J. Rhodin (Chair TFTSG, Co-Chair TCF) [Send Email]
Peter Paul van Dijk (Deputy Chair TFTSG, Red List Focal Point) [Send Email]
Russell A. Mittermeier [Send Email]
Peter C.H. Pritchard [Send Email]
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TFTSG Steering Committee and IUCN Red List Authority:
Harry V. Andrews, India
Ernst H.W. Baard, South Africa
Kristin H. Berry, USA
Kurt A. Buhlmann, USA
Indraneil Das, Malaysia
Arthur Georges, Australia
J. Whitfield Gibbons, USA
Douglas B. Hendrie, Vietnam
Rick Hudson, USA (Co-Chair TSA)
John B. Iverson, USA
Gerald Kuchling, Australia
Michael Lau, China
Dwight P. Lawson, USA (Co-Chair TSA)
Jeffrey E. Lovich, USA
Luca Luiselli, Italy
Russell A. Mittermeier, USA
Edward O. Moll, USA
Vivian P. Páez, Colombia
Hans-Dieter Philippen, Germany
Peter C.H. Pritchard, USA
Hugh R. Quinn, USA (Co-Chair TCF)
Herilala Randriamahazo, Madagascar
Anders G.J. Rhodin, USA (Chair TFTSG, Co-Chair TCF)
H. Bradley Shaffer, USA
Dionysius S.K. Sharma, Malaysia
Shi Haitao, China
Peter Paul van Dijk, USA (Deputy Chair TFTSG, Red List Focal Point)
Richard C. Vogt, Brazil
TFTSG Membership (2004-2008 Quadrennium)
| Name | Country of Residence | Countries or Region of Work or Focus |
| Gary W.J. Ades | China | South East Asia (primarily); China |
| Gustavo Aguirre Leon | Mexico | Mexico |
| Erika A. Alacs | Australia | Northern Australia |
| Phil Allman | USA | USA, Costa Rica, Ghana |
| Sandra Altherr | Germany | Europe, Global; Germany |
| Harry V. Andrews | India | India |
| Marine Arakelyan | Armenia | Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Azerbaijan) |
| Matthew J. Aresco | USA | Southeastern USA |
| Harald Artner | Austria | Austria |
| Ray E. Ashton | USA | USA, Peru, Ecuador; Asia, Madagascar, Africa |
| Omar Attum | USA | Middle East -Egypt; USA -Midwest |
| Harold W. Avery | USA | USA, Costa Rica |
| Ernst H.W. Baard | South Africa | South Africa |
| Sherif Baha El Din | Egypt | Egypt, Libya, Middle East, North Africa |
| Patrick J. Baker | USA | USA |
| Chris B. Banks | Australia | Australia, South-east Asia; Vietnam; Philippines |
| Alexandre Batistella | Brazil | Brazil |
| Kristin H. Berry | USA | USA |
| Albert Bertolero | France | Spain, France, Western Mediterranean |
| Subramanian Bhupathy | India | India |
| Karen A. Bjorndal | USA | Bahamas, Florida, USA |
| Torsten E.G. Blanck | Austria | Austria, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, Laos, Romania, Greece, Spain, Italy |
| Brian C. Bock | Colombia | South America, Colombia |
| Roger Bour | France | Europe, W Indian Ocean Islands, Tropical Africa, S America; France; Reunion; Mauritius; Ivory Coast; Brazil |
| Ortwin Bourquin | USA | South Africa |
| William R. Branch | South Africa | Africa, Madagascar; South Africa |
| Ronald J. Brooks | Canada | Canada |
| Timothy R. Brophy | USA | S.E. USA, S.E. Asia, Thailand |
| Kurt A. Buhlmann | USA | United States, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Jamaica |
| Kevin R. Buley | United Kingdom | Europe, SE Asia; UK |
| Russell L. Burke | USA | USA |
| R. Bruce Bury | USA | USA; Mexico |
| James R. Buskirk | USA | Mexico, Greece, Turkey |
| Joseph A. Butler | USA | USA |
| Adalgisa Caccone | USA | Galapagos, Ecuador |
| Antoine Cadi | France | France, Nepal, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Niger, West Africa |
| Fredric Caporaso | USA | USA; Galapagos, Ecuador |
| John L. Carr | USA | USA, Latin America, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador |
| Olga Victoria Castaño-Mora | Colombia | Colombia |
| Christina Castellano | Australia | northeastern North America, Australia, Madagascar |
| Eng-Heng Chan | Malaysia | Malaysia |
| Rajeev Chauhan | India | India |
| Tien-Hsi Chen | China (Taiwan) | Taiwan, mainland China |
| Binod Chandra Choudhury | India | India |
| Sabrina Clavijo-Baquet | Uruguay | Uruguay |
| Guarino Colli | Brazil | Brazil, Cerrado, Amazonia |
| David E. Collins | USA | USA |
| Justin D. Congdon | USA | USA |
| Kristen Conway-Gómez | USA | Bolivia |
| Indraneil Das | Malaysia | Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Vietnam |
| Ron W.F. de Bruin | Netherlands | Netherlands |
| Lamine Diagne | Senegal | Senegal |
| Tomas Diagne | Senegal | Africa (Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea Bissau, Togo, Niger, Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo) |
| Arvin Diesmos | Philippines | Philippines, Southeast Asia |
| C. Kenneth Dodd, Jr | USA | USA |
| J. Sean Doody | Australia | Australia, USA |
| Michael E. Dorcas | USA | USA, Costa Rica |
| Sergey Drobenkov | Belarus | Belarus |
| David Emmett | Cambodia | Indo-Burma region; Cambodia |
| Tag N. Engstrom | USA | Panama, Peru, Turkey, California |
| Andrés Estrades | Uruguay | Uruguay |
| Augusto Fachín-Terán | Brazil | Amazonia; Brazil |
| Alejandro Fallabrino | Uruguay | Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina |
| Rijasoa Fanazava | Madagascar | Madagascar |
| Balázs L. Farkas | Hungary | Hungary |
| Mark L. Feldman | New Zealand | New Zealand, USA |
| Paulo Dias Ferreira Júnior | Brazil | Brazil |
| Pierre Fidenci | USA | USA, Colombia, Philippines |
| Nancy N. FitzSimmons | Australia | Australia, Indo-Pacific |
| Joseph P. Flanagan | USA | Galapagos Islands, Ecuador |
| Wim Fontijne | Netherlands | Europe; Netherlands |
| Matthew G. Frankel | USA | USA, Madagascar |
| Daniela Freyer | Germany | Global; Germany |
| Uwe Fritz | Germany | Western Palearctic, SE Asia; Germany |
| Gerardo Garcia | United Kingdom | Europe, Madagascar; UK, Caribbean |
| Arthur Georges | Australia | Australasia; Australia; Papua New Guinea |
| Justin Gerlach | United Kingdom | Seychelles |
| David J. Germano | USA | USA, Mexico |
| Hanyeh Ghaffari | Iran | Iran, Turkey |
| J. Whitfield Gibbons | USA | USA |
| Eric Goode | USA | Madagascar, Myanmar, South Africa |
| Owen L. Griffiths | Mauritius | Mauritius (includes Rodrigues), Madagascar |
| Ghislaine Guyot Jackson | USA | USA, Europe; France |
| Cris Hagen | USA | USA; Indonesia |
| Bridgette Hagerty | USA | USA |
| Adrian Hailey | Trinidad & Tobago | Trinidad & Tobago, Greece, France |
| James H. Harding | USA | USA |
| George L. Heinrich | USA | USA |
| Douglas B. Hendrie | Vietnam | Asia, Vietnam, Myanmar |
| Brian T. Henen | USA | Africa, North America; USA; South Africa; Madagascar; Uzbekistan |
| Heng Sovannara | Cambodia | Cambodia |
| Dennis W. Herman | USA | USA; Southeastern United States |
| Thomas B. Herman | Canada | Canada, USA, Malaysia, Belize, Costa Rica |
| Margaretha D. Hofmeyr | South Africa | South Africa |
| Rohan Holloway | Australia | Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia |
| William F. Holmstrom | USA | Myanmar, Madagascar |
| Marinus S. Hoogmoed | Brazil | Amazon Region, mostly Brazil; Suriname |
| Brian D. Horne | USA | USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Australia, India, Myanmar |
| Jennifer G. Howeth | USA | Mexico |
| Rick Hudson | USA | USA, Asia (Myanmar, Thailand, India) |
| Bonggi Rodrigo Ibarrondo | Indonesia | Indonesia, Timor Leste |
| Sixto J. Inchaustegui | Dominican Republic | Dominican Republic, Hispaniola, West Indies |
| Charles J. Innis | USA | USA |
| Djoko T. Iskandar | Indonesia | Indonesia |
| Ivo E. Ivanchev | Bulgaria | Bulgaria |
| John B. Iverson | USA | USA; Mexico; Colombia; China |
| Dale R. Jackson | USA | USA |
| Elliott R. Jacobson | USA | USA |
| Fredric J. Janzen | USA | USA, Costa Rica, Australia |
| Karen A. Jensen | Malaysia | Malaysia, Borneo; Southwestern USA; Pacific Islands/Oceania |
| Robert L. Jones | USA | Southeastern USA |
| James O. Juvik | USA | Africa (Namibia, Madagascar), Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, China) |
| Heather J. Kalb | USA | USA |
| Rod M. Kennett | Australia | Australia |
| A. Ross Kiester | USA | Global; USA; Vietnam |
| Mark Klerks | Netherlands | Netherlands, South Africa |
| Gerald Kuchling | Australia | Australia, Madagascar, South Africa, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, China, Mediterranean |
| Michael Lau | China | Hong Kong, South China |
| Dwight P. Lawson | USA | Cameroon, Africa, Asia |
| Minh Le | USA | Vietnam |
| Edgar Lehr | USA | Peru; SE-Asia; Vietnam |
| Thomas E.J. Leuteritz | USA | USA, Madagascar, South Africa |
| Richard E. Lewis | Madagascar | Philippines; Mascarenes; Mauritius; Madagascar |
| Susan S. Lieberman | Italy | Global; Italy |
| Peter V. Lindeman | USA | USA |
| Alison Lipman | USA | USA, Bolivia |
| Jacqueline D. Litzgus | Canada | Canada, USA |
| Barbara A. Livoreil | France | France |
| Victor J.T. Loehr | Netherlands | Netherlands, South Africa |
| Edward E. Louis, Jr. | USA | Madagascar; Ecuador (Galapagos); Mexico; Thailand; South Africa |
| Jeffrey E. Lovich | USA | USA |
| Luca Luiselli | Italy | Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Italy |
| Georgia Mantziou | Greece | Greece, Mediterranean region |
| Jérôme Maran | France | Africa, Gabon, Cameroun, Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic |
| William P. McCord | USA | Central and South America, Asia, Austral-Asia, Africa; China; USA |
| Tim McCormack | Vietnam | Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar |
| Earl D. McCoy | USA | USA, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico |
| Roy W. McDiarmid | USA | North, Central, and South America [USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela] |
| Suzanne E. McGaugh | USA | USA (Texas, Iowa, Illinois), Mexico (Coahuila, Cuatro Ciénegas, Chihuahua) |
| Philip A. Medica | USA | USA, Southwestern states of Nevada, California, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico |
| Walter E. Meshaka, Jr. | USA | Eastern United States |
| Sébastien Métrailler | Switzerland | South America, French Guyana, Paraguay, Argentina |
| Peter A. Meylan | USA | Panama, Bermuda, USA |
| Joseph C. Mitchell | USA | USA |
| Russell A. Mittermeier | USA | Global; Madagascar; Brazil; Suriname; Guyana |
| Asghar Mobaraki | Iran | Iran |
| Paul E. Moler | USA | USA, Vietnam, South Africa |
| Don Moll | USA | Costa Rica, Belize, Thailand, Tanzania |
| Edward O. Moll | USA | Malaysia, India, USA |
| Jeanne A. Mortimer | Seychelles | Seychelles; Brazil (Rio Trombetas) |
| Henry R. Mushinsky | USA | USA |
| Reginald T. Mwaya | Tanzania | Tanzania, East Africa sub-region |
| Ronald I. Orenstein | Canada | Global |
| Matthew F. Osentoski | USA | USA |
| Hidetoshi Ota | Japan | Japan |
| Thomas C. Owens | USA | USA |
| Vivian P. Páez | Colombia | Colombia |
| Michael J. Pappas | USA | North America (Minnesota, Wisconsin) |
| James F. Parham | USA | China, Middle East |
| Ingo Pauler | Germany | Germany, Europe |
| Devon E. Pearse | USA | USA, Brazil, Venezuela |
| Miguel Pedrono | France | Madagascar, Vietnam |
| Jarmo Perälä | Finland | France, circum-Mediterranean countries; Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Libya, western and central Asia |
| Hans-Dieter Philippen | Germany | Germany |
| Kalyar Platt | Thailand | Myanmar; Thailand; Malaysia |
| Steven G. Platt | USA | USA, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand; Indonesia |
| Michael V. Plummer | USA | USA |
| John Polisar | USA | Nicaragua, Belize, Guatemala, Venezuela, USA |
| Bradley Poynter | USA | Southeast Asia; Malaysia |
| Peter Praschag | Austria | Global, India and Bangladesh, Northeast India, Pakistan, Myanmar; Austria |
| Peter C.H. Pritchard | USA | Global, Guyana, Galapagos (Ecuador), Vietnam, China |
| Hugh R. Quinn | USA | Asia, USA |
| Angelo M. Ramy | Madagascar | Madagascar |
| Herilala J.A.R. Randriamahazo | Madagascar | Madagascar |
| R.J. Rao | India | India |
| Bonnie L. Raphael | USA | Vietnam, USA, Madagascar |
| A. Léon Razafindrakoto | France | France; Madagascar |
| Anders G.J. Rhodin | USA | Global; Papua New Guinea; Indonesia; USA (Maine, Massachusetts); South America; Brazil; Puerto Rico; Madagascar; Sweden |
| Sébastien Rioux Paquette | Canada | Madagascar, Canada |
| Awal Riyanto | Indonesia | Indonesia |
| Maurice Rodrigues | USA | Madagascar, Myanmar, South Africa |
| Willem M. Roosenburg | USA | USA - Eastern United States; Maryland; Ohio |
| Raymond A. Saumure | USA | Canada, USA |
| Chuck Schaffer | USA | North America, Southeast Asia; USA |
| Sabine Schoppe | Malaysia | Indonesia and Malaysia, SE Asia |
| Norman J. Scott, Jr | USA | Paraguay; California, USA |
| Michael E. Seidel | USA | USA, West Indies; Dominican Republic; Puerto Rico |
| Richard A. Seigel | USA | USA |
| Will Selman | USA | USA, Southeast Mississippi |
| Darrell Senneke | USA | USA |
| H. Bradley Shaffer | USA | USA, Australia, Mexico, new world tropics, China |
| Dionysius S.K. Sharma | Malaysia | Malaysia |
| Chris R. Shepherd | Malaysia | Southeast Asia; Malaysia; Indonesia |
| Shi Haitao | China | China |
| Shailendra Singh | India | India |
| Tahar Slimani | Morrocco | Morocco |
| Lora L. Smith | USA | USA, Madagascar |
| Sitha Som | Cambodia | Cambodia, Laos |
| Franco L. Souza | Brazil | Brazil |
| Phillip Q. Spinks | USA | USA |
| James R. Spotila | USA | USA, South Africa, Costa Rica |
| David E. Starkey | USA | USA, Australia, Caribbean; Dominican Republic; Puerto Rico |
| Brett C. Stearns | USA | USA |
| Bryan L. Stuart | USA | Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam |
| Ian R. Swingland | United Kingdom | Australia, Bangladesh, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Europe, India, Indonesia, PR China, Peru, Sarawak, Seychelles, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, United Kingdom, USA, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| Gracia P. Syed | USA | Mexico, Mesoamerica |
| Chris Tabaka | USA | United States- Michigan, Southeast Asia |
| Ertan Taskavak | Turkey | Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Israel, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia |
| R. Brent Thomas | USA | USA |
| Robert C. Thomson | USA | USA |
| Scott Thomson | Australia | Australasia; Australia; Papua New Guinea |
| John B. Thorbjarnarson | USA | Global; China; Venezuela; Belize; Myanmar; Brazil |
| Stanley E. Trauth | USA | USA |
| Bern W. Tryon | USA | USA |
| Tracey D. Tuberville | USA | United States (eastern), Jamaica |
| John K. Tucker | USA | USA (Central) |
| Oguz Türkozan | Turkey | Turkey |
| Nicole Valenzuela | USA | USA, South America, Colombia, Venezuela |
| Peter Paul van Dijk | USA | Global; Asia; Thailand; Malaysia; Netherlands |
| Juliette Velosoa | Madagascar | Madagascar |
| Holger Vetter | Germany | Europe; Germany |
| Richard C. Vogt | Brazil | Amazon Basin, Brazil; Mexico |
| Andrew D. Walde | USA | USA, Canada |
| Timothy J. Walsh | USA | USA, Florida |
| Ryan C.J. Walker | United Kingdom | Madagascar |
| Robert G. Webb | USA | SW USA, Mexico, Papua New Guinea; Indonesia |
| Bruce J. Weissgold | USA | USA; Global |
| Wen Cheng | China | People’s Republic of China |
| Nikhil Whitaker | India | India |
| Dawn S. Wilson | USA | USA; Southwest US |
| Hussam Zaher | Brazil | Central and South America; Brazil |
| Robert T. Zappalorti | USA | USA, especially the eastern half, Taiwan |
| F. William Zeigler | USA | Malaysia, Indonesia |
| Zhou Ting | China | China |
| William H. Zovickian | USA | USA; Madagascar |
| George R. Zug | USA | Oceania; Myanmar |
| Hendrik A. Zwartepoorte | Netherlands | Netherlands |






