species:
Amyda cartilaginea |
Common
Name: Asiatic
soft-shell turtle
Described by: Boddaert, 1770
Conservation
Status:
Vulnerable:
IUCN red List 2006
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Range
of Amyda cartilaginea.
(John
B. Iverson)
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Habitat:
Inhabits a variety of freshwater habitats from
ponds and lakes to rivers and canals. Based
upon field records for the species, Amyda
appears to be found in wetlands and lakes associated
with river systems in Indochina. (Hendrie,
pers. comm.)
Range:
Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia
(Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan), Laos, Malaysia
(Sawarak, Sabah, and peninsula), Myanmar (east
and south), Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.
Key
Threats: Exploitation for trade and
subsistent comsumption. Caught by fishing nets,
harpoons, and diving to search the river bottom
(Kalyar,
2004). In Rakhine State (Myanmar),
Amyda Cartilaginea was the principal
species sought for both export markets and local
consumption. |
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More
about
Amyda cartilaginea:
The
Asiatic soft-shell turtle is the most common soft-shell
turtle species through most of its range. This species
is heavily exploited for domestic and international
trade, where it is mainly consumed for food or used
in traditional Chinese Medicine. |
Clutch
Size: 3-4
clutches of 5-30 eggs. (Liat and
Das, 1999)
Incubation: 61-140 days.(Liat
and Das, 1999)
Age of maturity: Females mature
at 20 months.
Diet: Omnivorous. Fish, insects,
crabs, carrion, fruits (Cox
et al., 1998), amphibians. |
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Description:
Distinguishing
Features:
Tubercles along the anterior margin of the carapace
(behind the neck).
Coloring:
Adults may range in color from brown to gray to dark
black, sometimes with yellow speckles on the head, limbs
and carapace. The plastron is white to gray in color.
Juveniles have speckled heads and limbs.
Male/Female:
Males are generally larger and have longer tails
(Liat and Das, 1999).
Similar
Species: Can be differentiated from similar
Nilssonia formosa (Myanmar) by a longer snout
and a pattern of yellow or light speckling on a darker
or black head base color compared with the shorter snout
and presence of dark speckling on a yellow, orange,
or light base color on the head found on Nilssonia
Formosa. Nillsonia Formosa also has less pronounced
tubercles along the forward margin of the carapace behind
the neck, however these tubercles tend to be elongated
and vertical when compared with the knob-like tubercles
found on Amyda cartilaginea (Gerald
Kuchling, personal communication, 2004).
Carapace |
Adult
head. |
Plastron |
Amyda hatchling.
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