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(Redirected from Fly River turtle) Species of turtle

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Pig-nosed turtle

In Siam Center, Thailand
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
CITES Appendix II (CITES)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Trionychia
Family:	Carettochelyidae Boulenger, 1887
Genus:	Carettochelys Ramsay, 1886
Species:	C. insculpta
Binomial name
*Carettochelys insculpta* Ramsay, 1886
Synonyms
Carettocchelys insculptus Ramsay, 1886 Carettochelys insculpta — Boulenger, 1889 Chelodina insculpta — Cann, 1997 Carettochelys canni Artner, 2003 (nomen nudum)

The pig-nosed turtle (Carettochelys insculpta), also known as the Fly River turtle, the pitted-shelled turtle, and the Warrajan is a species of turtle which is native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It is the only living member of the genus Carettochelys and family Carettochelyidae, a family which also contains many fossil species with their closest relatives being the softshell turtles (family Trionychidae).

Systematics

C. insculpta is the only living member of the genus Carettochelys, the subfamily Carettochelyinae, and the family Carettochelyidae, with Carettochelyidae being one of two families in the Trionychia, alongside Trionychidae (softshell turtles). Carettochelyidae has an extensive fossil record extending into the Paleogene and was formerly widespread, with fossils having been found in Asia, North America, Europe, Africa and Australia. Some literature claims two subspecies, but a recent paper rejects this. A fossil species of the genus, Carettochelys niahensis is known from the Neogene of Borneo.

Description

(video) Pig-nosed turtle swimming

The pig-nosed turtle is unlike any other species of freshwater turtle in its combination of traits. The feet are flippers, resembling those of marine turtles. The nose looks like that of a pig, having the nostrils at the end of a fleshy snout, hence the common name. The carapace is typically grey or olive, with a leathery texture, while the plastron is cream-coloured. Males can be distinguished from females by their longer and narrower tails. The pig-nosed turtles can grow to about 70 to 75 cm (28 to 30 in) straight carapace length, with a weight of over 20 kg (44 lb).

Unlike the soft-shelled turtles of the family Trionychidae, The pig-nosed turtle retains a domed bony carapace beneath its leathery skin, rather than a flat plate. It also retains a solid plastron, connected to the carapace by a strong bony bridge, rather than the soft margin of the trionychids.

Behaviour

The pig-nosed turtle is not completely aquatic. Little is known about its general behaviour, as there have been few studies in the wild. Its known extreme aggression in captivity suggests the species is markedly more territorial than most other turtles and tortoises. It seems to display a degree of social structure during the cooler dry season around the hydrothermal vents that line some river systems it inhabits.

Feeding

C. insculpta is omnivorous, eating a wide variety of plant and animal matter, including the flowers, fruit and leaves of figs, as well as preying upon crustaceans, molluscs and insects.

Breeding

Females of C. insculpta reach maturity at 18 or more years, and males around 16 years. The females lay their eggs late in the dry season on sandy river banks. When the offspring are fully developed, they will stay inside the eggs in hibernation until conditions are suitable for emergence. Hatching may be triggered when the eggs have been flooded with water or by a sudden drop in air pressure signaling an approaching storm.

Using environmental triggers, along with vibrations created by other hatching turtles in the same clutch, gives a better chance for survival. Using a universal trigger rather than simply waiting for incubation to finish means they all hatch at the same time. This provides safety in numbers; also, the more turtles that hatch, the more help they have to dig through the sand to the surface.

Geographic range and habitat

C. insculpta is native to freshwater streams, lagoons and rivers of the Northern Territory of Australia, as well as to the island of New Guinea, where it is believed to occur in all the larger, and some smaller, southward-flowing rivers.

Status and conservation

C. insculpta experienced a population decline of more than 50% in the thirty years between 1981 and 2011. Although the pig-nosed turtle is protected in Indonesia under Law No. 5/1990 on Natural Resources and Ecosystems Conservation, smuggling occurs. Some 11,000 pig-nosed turtles captured from smugglers were released into their habitats in the Wania River, Papua Province, Indonesia, on 30 December 2010. In March 2009, more than 10,000 pig-nosed turtles retrieved from smugglers were also released into the Otakwa River in Lorentz National Park. 687 pig-nosed turtles were seized at an Indonesian airport in March 2013. They were reportedly destined for Hong Kong.

In Papua New Guinea, herpetologist Yolarnie Amepou runs the Piku Biodiversity Network Inc. which empowers local communities to monitor turtle populations and set their own targets for harvest, in the hope of building sustainable practices to preserve the population.

Illegal harvest and trafficking of pig-nosed turtles continues on a large scale. An analysis of 26 reported seizures over the period 2013 to 2020, of which 20 took place in Indonesia and the remaining five in other parts of Asia with the turtles being trafficked from Indonesia, involved a total of 52,374 pig-nosed turtles.

Captive care

Pig-nosed turtles have become available through the exotic pet trade, with a few instances of captive breeding. While juveniles are small and grow slowly, their high cost and large potential size makes them suitable only for experienced aquatic turtle keepers. They tend to be shy and prone to stress. They get sick easily, which can cause problems with their feeding, but they are known to eat commercially available processed turtle pellets or trout chow, as well as various fruits and vegetables. Breeding is rarely an option to the hobbyist, as adults are highly aggressive and will attack each other in all but the largest enclosures.

Wild populations of this turtle are declining rapidly because of illegal capture for the pet trade. It is estimated that between 2003 and 2013, more than 80,000 individuals were confiscated in 30 seizures in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.

References

Eisemberg, C.; van Dijk, P.P.; Georges, A.; Amepou, Y. (2018). "Carettochelys insculpta". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T3898A2884984. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T3898A2884984.en.
"Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
Ramsay, E.P. (1886). "On a new genus and species of fresh water tortoise from the Fly River, New Guinea". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 2 (1): 158–162. ("Carettocchelys insculptus ", new species).
Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 163–164. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
Rule, James P.; Kool, Lesley; Parker, William M.G.; Fitzgerald, Erich M.G. (2021). "Turtles all the way down: Neogene pig-nosed turtle fossil from southern Australia reveals cryptic freshwater turtle invasions and extinctions". Papers in Palaeontology. 8. doi:10.1002/spp2.1414. S2CID 245107305.
Georges, A.; Thomson, S. (2010). "Diversity of Australasian freshwater turtles, with an annotated synonymy and keys to species". Zootaxa. 2496: 1–37. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2496.1.1.
White, Arthur W.; Archer, Michael; Hand, Suzanne J.; Godthelp, Henk; Gillespie, Anna K. (2 October 2023). "A new broad-snouted fossil carettochelyid turtle from a previously unknown Caenozoic deposit in Sarawak, Malaysia". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 47 (4): 614–623. Bibcode:2023Alch...47..614W. doi:10.1080/03115518.2023.2243503. ISSN 0311-5518.
^ Obst, Fritz Jurgen (1998). Cogger, H.G.; Zweifel, R.G. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-12-178560-4.
Bargeron, Michael (1997). "The Pig-nosed Turtle, Carettochelys insculpta". California Turtle & Tortoise Club. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
"Carettochelys insculpta (Pig-nosed Turtle, Pitted-Shelled Turtle, Warrajan)". Animal Diversity Web.
http://www.carettochelys.com/pdf-library/visser_zwartepoorte_2005.pdf Reproduction of the pig-nosed turtle Carettochelys insculpta
Ferrara, Camila R.; Vogt, Richard C.; Eisemberg, Carla C.; Doody, J. Sean (2017). "First Evidence of the Pig-nosed Turtle (Carettochelys insculpta) Vocalizing Underwater". Copeia. 105 (1): 29–32. doi:10.1643/CE-16-407. ISSN 0045-8511. JSTOR 26872394.
Georges, Arthur; Rose, Mark (1993). "Conservation biology of the pig-nosed turtle, Carettochelys insculpta". Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 1: 3–12.
"Unique Pig-Nosed Turtle Reaches Brink of Extinction". TreeHugger. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
"Over 10,000 pig-nose turtles released into habitat". Antara News. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
"Hundreds of Rare Pig-Nosed Turtles Rescued at Airport". National Geographic. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
"Piku Biodiversity Network launches | Georges Lab". 12 October 2021. Archived from the original on 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
"The Team". Tropical Turtle Group. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
"Conservation program aims to save the pig-nosed turtle from extinction". ABC News. 16 June 2016. Archived from the original on 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
"Conserving Piku the pig-nosed turtle – The National". 13 September 2021. Archived from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
Shepherd, Chris R.; Gomez, Lalita; Nijman, Vincent (2020). "Illegal wildlife trade, seizures and prosecutions: A 7.5-year analysis of trade in pig-nosed turtles Carettochelys insculpta in and from Indonesia". Global Ecology and Conservation. 24: e01249. doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01249. ISSN 2351-9894. S2CID 224952630.
Crossan, Andrea (8 October 2014). "Pig-nosed turtles are adorable — and that's made them the target of traffickers".

External links

Species Carettochelys insculpta at The Reptile Database

Testudines

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Diapsida
Order: Testudines

Genus

Chelonioidea
(Sea turtles)

Cheloniidae	†Allopleuron Caretta †Carolinochelys Chelonia †Eochelone Eretmochelys †Gigantatypus †Glarichelys †Itilochelys Lepidochelys †Mexichelys †Miocaretta Natator †Pacifichelys †Syllomus †Tasbacka
Dermochelyidae	†Arabemys †Corsochelys †Cosmochelys Dermochelys †Eosphargis †Mesodermochelys †Psephophorus
	†Euclastes †Peritresius †Procolpochelys †Protosphargis †Puppigerus

Kinosternoidea

Dermatemydidae	Dermatemys
Kinosternidae	Claudius †Hoplochelys Kinosternon Staurotypus Sternotherus

Testudinoidea

Emydidae	†Acherontemys Chrysemys Clemmys Deirochelys Emys Actinemys Emydoidea Glyptemys Graptemys Malaclemys Pseudemys Terrapene Trachemys †Wilburemys
Geoemydidae	Batagur †Banhxeochelys Cuora Cyclemys Geoclemys Geoemyda Hardella Heosemys Leucocephalon Malayemys Mauremys Melanochelys Morenia Notochelys Orlitia Pangshura Rhinoclemmys Sacalia Siebenrockiella Vijayachelys
Platysternidae	Platysternon
Testudinidae	Aldabrachelys Astrochelys Centrochelys Chelonoidis Chersina Cylindraspis †Cymatholcus †Floridemys Geochelone Gopherus †Hadrianus †Hesperotestudo Homopus Indotestudo Kinixys Malacochersus Manouria †Megalochelys †Oligopherus Psammobates Pyxis †Solitudo Stigmochelys †Stylemys Testudo

Trionychia

Carettochelyidae	†Allaeochelys †Anosteira Carettochelys
Trionychidae	Amyda Apalone †Axestemys Chitra Cyclanorbis Cycloderma †Drazinderetes Dogania †Gilmoremys †Hutchemys †Khunnuchelys Lissemys Nilssonia Palea †Palaeoamyda Pelochelys Pelodiscus Rafetus Trionyx
	†Basilochelys †Sinaspideretes

Chelydridae	Chelydra †Chelydrops †Chelydropsis †Emarginachelys †Macrocephalochelys Macrochelys †Planiplastron †Protochelydra
†Nanhsiungchelyidae	†Anomalochelys †Basilemys †Jiangxichelys
†Protostegidae	†Alienochelys †Archelon †Atlantochelys †Bouliachelys †Calcarichelys †Cratochelone †Desmatochelys †Iserosaurus †Notochelone †Ocepechelon †Pneumatoarthrus †Protostega †Rhinochelys †Santanachelys †Terlinguachelys
	†Adocus †Argillochelys †Bashuchelys †Ctenochelys †Prionochelys †Toxochelys

Pleurodira

†Araripemydidae	†Araripemys
†Bothremydidae	†Araiochelys †Arenila †Azabbaremys †Bothremys †Cearachelys †Chedighaii †Chupacabrachelys †Eotaphrosphys †Foxemys †Galianemys †Ilatardia †Inaechelys †Itapecuruemys †Jainemys †Kinkonychelys †Kurmademys †Labrostochelys †Nigeremys †Phosphatochelys †Polysternon †Puentemys †Rosasia †Rhothonemys †Sankuchemys †Taphrosphys †Ummulisani †Zolhafah
Chelidae	Acanthochelys Chelodina Chelus Elseya Elusor Emydura Hydromedusa †Lomalatachelys Mesoclemmys Myuchelys Phrynops Platemys †Prochelidella Pseudemydura Rheodytes Rhinemys †Yaminuechelys
Pelomedusidae	Pelomedusa Pelusios
Podocnemididae	†Albertwoodemys †Bauruemys †Brontochelys †Caninemys †Carbonemys †Cerrejonemys †Cordichelys Erymnochelys †Lapparentemys †Latentemys Peltocephalus Podocnemis †Stupendemys
†Sahonachelyidae	†Sahonachelys †Sokatra

	†Caribemys †Caririemys †Tacuarembemys

Phylogenetic arrangement of turtles based on Turtles of the World 2017 Update: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status. † = extinct.

See also List of Testudines families

Taxon identifiers
Carettochelys	Wikidata: Q9184539 Wikispecies: Carettochelys AFD: Carettochelys BOLD: 253580 CoL: 3HH6 EoL: 34924 GBIF: 2442505 iNaturalist: 39535 IRMNG: 1201006 ITIS: 208725 NCBI: 44488 Open Tree of Life: 810247 Paleobiology Database: 37671 WoRMS: 1389957
Carettochelys insculpta	Wikidata: Q457742 Wikispecies: Carettochelys insculpta ADW: Carettochelys AFD: Carettochelys_insculpta BOLD: 253581 CoL: R7VH EoL: 1056984 GBIF: 2442506 iNaturalist: 39536 IRMNG: 10369936 ISC: 91092 ITIS: 208726 IUCN: 3898 NCBI: 44489 Open Tree of Life: 810244 Paleobiology Database: 373841 RD: insculpta Species+: 5881 WoRMS: 1389958

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