..................................................................................................................................... ....ii UlTTREKSEL.......................................................................................................................................v D e d ic a t io n .......................................................................................................................................ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..................................................................................................................x PREFACE.......................................................................................................................................... ...xvii GENERAL INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... ...xix Life History, Distribution, and General Description of XI X Pelomedusa subru fa ........................................................................................................ References........................................................................................................................ ...xxii LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................................ ...xxiv LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................................................... ..xxvi CHAPTER 1: T urtle Reproductive Cycles: An Overview PATTERNS OF REPRODUCTION.............................................................................. ....1 T im in g o f R e p r o d u c t i o n .................................................................................... ....4 Sexual M aturity ...................................................................................................5 Associated versus D issociated ......................................................................... 6 xii Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za/