Terekay rail turtle
| Terekay rail turtle | ||||||||||||
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Terekay rail turtle ( Podocnemis unifilis ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Podocnemis unifilis | ||||||||||||
| Troschel , 1848 |
The Terekay rail turtle ( Podocnemis unifilis ) belongs to the genus of the rail turtle ( Podocnemis ).
description
The animals reach a length of up to 45 cm and a weight of up to 8 kilograms. The males are smaller and lighter than the females . The carapace is olive green to brownish in color. The yellow spots on the head are characteristic of the species.
Occurrence
The Terekay rail turtle is found in fresh waters in Brazil , Peru , Venezuela , Colombia , Bolivia, and Ecuador , particularly in the Amazon and Orinoco .
food
The food spectrum of the animals ranges from aquatic plants and algae to snails , insects and fish . The species prefers the vegetable diet.
Reproduction
The females lay 4 to 35 eggs in a pit. The young hatch after 60 to 70 days. The sex is determined by the height of the incubation temperature in the course of embryonic development. Females predominantly hatch in temperature ranges from 31 degrees Celsius. The animals reach sexual maturity from a height of 30 centimeters.
Danger
In the Red List of IUCN the yellow-spotted river turtle as is "at risk" ( vulnerable ) classified, but this classification still comes from the 1996th
See also
literature
- Fritz Jürgen Obst : The world of the turtles. Müller, Hohenwarsleben 1985, ISBN 3-275-00855-2 .
- Holger Vetter: Central and South America. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt / M. 2004, ISBN 3-930612-82-8 ( Turtles of the World. Volume 3).
Web links
- Podocnemis unifilis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2009. Posted by: Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, 1996. Retrieved on November 5 of 2009.
- Podocnemis unifilis in The Reptile Database