Reptiles and amphibians

Pig-nosed Turtle

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Identity card

Pig-nosed Turtle

Scientific name:: Carettochelys insculpta

Family:: Carettochelyidae

Class:: Reptilia

Phylum:: Chordata

Year of description:: Ramsay, 1887

IUCN Status:: Endangered

CITES-status:: Appendix II

Distribution:: Rivers in the south of Papua-New Guinea, in Indonesia and in northern and north-eastern Australia.

Habitat:: The pig-nosed turtle is a freshwater turtle that lives in calm stretches of river and isolated lakes.

Size:: It can measure up to 70 cm and weighs 30 kg.

Diet:: It is omnivorous and feeds on snails, fish and crustaceans, as well as on aquatic plants and fruit.

What does it like to eat at Nausicaá ? Small pieces of mango!

Biomimetics: the turtle has inspired the construction of the u-cat undersea robot for observing different seabed environments without creating turbulence.

Its predators are mainly saltwater and estuary crocodiles. Herds of buffalo may inadvertently trample the nests, eggs and young on the banks.

Did you know?

Where is the animal to be found?

This turtle, which normally lives in rivers, is able to behave like a marine turtle and swim non-stop over large distances to colonise other islands. When it swims underwater, like marine turtles, the pig-nosed turtle seems to glide. The pig-nosed turtle is a freshwater turtle that lives in calm stretches of river and isolated lakes. It can sometimes be seen at sea and it lays on certain beaches in the same way as marine turtles.
Rivers in the south of Papua-New Guinea, in Indonesia and in northern and north-eastern Australia.

How can it be recognised?

The pig-nosed turtle is the only turtle in the world to have a prominent snout, which gives it its name. It can measure up to 70 cm and weighs 30 kg.

What is distinctive about it?

The females lay twice a year during the dry season. They dig a nest 50 cm deep during the night to lay their eggs. The baby turtles then hatch between 53 and 101 days later depending on the temperature. The pig-nosed turtle can lay up to 40 eggs in its nest.

Threat and protective measure

A common emblem of the Aboriginal People, the pig-nosed turtle is becoming scarce, mainly due to the destruction of its habitat, but also due to the pet trade.