Papuan softshell turtle
| Papuan softshell turtle | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Papuan softshell turtles ( Carettochelys insculpta ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the family | ||||||||||||
| Carettochelyidae | ||||||||||||
| Boulenger , 1887 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Carettochelys | ||||||||||||
| Ramsay , 1886 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Carettochelys insculpta | ||||||||||||
| Ramsay, 1886 |
The Papuan softshell turtle ( Carettochelys insculpta ) occurs in New Guinea and northern Australia , especially in larger rivers such as the Fly River , and also goes into the brackish water of the estuaries. It is the only extant kind of family Carettochelyidae that other species and genera as allaeochelys are extinct.
features
Adult Carettochelys insculpta can reach a shell length of up to 50 cm. The tank still has all the plates, but no more horn shields. Instead, the top is covered with a leather-like, thick skin. The top of the shell and the legs as well as the head are dark olive, the belly armor and the undersides of the legs and neck are colored yellowish-pink. The fin-like limbs only have two free claws. The iris of the eyes is pink, the head ends in a blunt trunk.
Way of life
The Papuan softshell turtle is a good swimmer, stays mainly on the bottom of the water and only comes to the surface to breathe briefly. It can stay under water for a very long time and probably also takes in oxygen through the oral cavity, which is well supplied with blood, or through the anal sacs. Their diet consists mainly of fish, molluscs and crustaceans . Vegetable foods are less important.
literature
- Gerhard Müller: Turtles . 2., revised. and exp. Ed., Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-8001-7258-5 .
- Wilhelm G. Walther: The New Guinea tortoise Caretto-Chelys insculpta Ramsay . Brill, Leiden 1922.
Web links
- Carettochelys insculpta in The Reptile Database
- Carettochelys insculpta inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: Asian Turtle Trade Working Group, 2000. Retrieved December 14, 2013.