Painted Terrapin

Common Name : Painted Terrapin

Local Name : Tuntung Laut

Scientific Name : Callagur borneoensis

Description : Females are larger than the males. It has completely webbed feet, the forelimbs having five claws each and a small head covered with undivided skin. Adult males change colour during the breeding season, a white head with a bright red stripe between the eyes.

Size & Weight : 50 to 70 cm , 1.7 kg.

Diet : Comprises chiefly of fruits and greenery from riverside plants and from mangroves.

Habitat & Range : An aquatic estuarine turtle inhabiting mangrove swamps and areas of tidal influence of medium to large rivers. Southernmost provinces of Thailand in the north, southward throughout West Malaysia to the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.

Nesting : At night at low tide on sand beaches along the sea within a few kilometres of the mouth of their home river. In mangrove areas, sandbanks within the river are used. Up to 20 eggs are laid, which will hatch after 70 days.

Threats : The heavy demand for eggs coupled with low reproductive potential, destruction of habitat by the removal of vegetation, dam building and sand removal from nesting areas. One of the most seriously threatened river turtles in Southeast Asia