Batagur turtle
| Batagur turtle | ||||||||||||
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Hatchling and annual and biennial Northern Batagur Tortoises |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Batagur baska | ||||||||||||
| ( Gray , 1831) |
The Northern Batagur Tortoise ( Batagur baska ) is one of the rarest tortoises in the world. The original range includes Bengal , Burma , Thailand , Cambodia , Vietnam , the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra . It lives in larger and deep fresh water , but also goes into brackish water . The animals feed almost exclusively on plants.
features
Batagur turtles grow to be two feet long. Its shell is only slightly arched and of a light gray-brown color. The head is black and wide, the animals have jaw ridges in their mouths. They only have four toes on their front legs. All limbs have strong claws.
The females are always well camouflaged in brackish water due to their color. During the mating season, the males show a typical deep red color of neck and legs.
Danger
The Batagur turtle is critically endangered and has been on the IUCN Red List since 1982 . Since 2003 it has been considered the most endangered species of turtle. It is hunted for its meat and its shell, which is made into medicinal products. Their eggs are said to be very tasty. In addition, their habitat is threatened as nesting beaches are lost and the animals perish in fishing nets.
In 2016, only 20 adult animals were known whose gene pool is used for a conservation breeding program. In 2013, fishermen in Bangladesh , where the turtle was thought to be extinct, caught three juveniles in their nets , so there must still be wild adults there.
At the beginning of May 2010, zoologists in the Schönbrunn Zoo (Austria) succeeded in breeding Batagur turtles in human care, and two young animals hatched.
literature
- Gerhard Müller: Turtles. Ulmer, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-8001-7258-5 .
Web links
- Batagur baska in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2009. Posted by: Asian Turtle Trade Working Group, 2000. Retrieved on November 5 of 2009.
- Batagur baska in The Reptile Database
- Batagur baska - a river turtle is struggling to survive.
Individual evidence
- ^ Cäcilia Spitzweg: Batagur baska - a tortoise's struggle for survival. In: Senckenberg. Nature - Research - Museum. Volume 146, No. 9/10, 2016, pp. 292–293, full text (PDF)
- ↑ Species protection project Batagur baska. On: zoovienna.at , accessed on September 6, 2016