Pitted-shelled turtle, Fly River turtle, Fly river turtle
The pig-nosed turtle (Carettochelys insculpta ), also known as the pitted-shelled turtle or Fly River turtle, is a species of turtle native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It is the only living member of the family Carettochelyidae, which are related to softshell turtles.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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OmnivoreAn omnivore is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and ani...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
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FrugivoreA frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Approx...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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InsectivoresAn insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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MolluscivoreA molluscivore is a carnivorous animal that specializes in feeding on molluscs such as gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods, and cephalopods. Known mo...
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SemiaquaticSemiaquatic animals are those that are primarily or partly terrestrial but that spend a large amount of time swimming or otherwise occupied in wate...
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NatatorialNatatorial animals are those adapted for swimming. Some fish use their pectoral fins as the primary means of locomotion, sometimes termed labriform...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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CongregatoryCongregatory animals tend to gather in large numbers in specific areas as breeding colonies, for feeding, or for resting.
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
A territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
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PolygynandryPolygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season.
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy charac...
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starts withThe Pig-nosed turtle is a unique freshwater turtle native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea. Its 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-colored. Males can be distinguished from females by their longer and narrower tails.
Pig-nosed turtles occur in the Northern Territory of Australia and on the island of New Guinea. They live in warm freshwater streams, lagoons, estuaries, rivers, lakes, pools, and swamps.
Pig-nosed turtles are mostly aquatic and leave the water only to nest. They are social although despite that are highly aggressive and territorial. During the nesting season females usually gather in groups at night and come out on land to find a good nesting site. Pig-nosed turtles are active during the day and night. They have a strong sense of smell and their sensitive nose helps them to breathe under the water and to locate their food. Pig-nosed turtles also have well-developed ears and are able to hear a wide range of sound frequencies.
Pig-nosed turtles are omnivores. They eat a wide variety of plant and animal matter, including the fruit and leaves of figs, as well as crustaceans, mollusks, and insects.
Pig-nosed turtles are polygynandrous (promiscuous) and both the males and females mate with multiple partners. In Australia, they nest from June to November and in New Guinea from September to January. Females lay eggs every two years in a shallow nest burrowed in sand or mud and located on river banks. They do not guard their nests and leave right after the eggs were deposited. Each clutch contains 7 to 26 eggs. Incubation lasts between 65 and 107 days depending on location. When the young 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. Young females become reproductively mature at the age of 18 years while males start to breed when they are 16 years old.
Wild populations of the Pig-nosed 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. Pig-nosed turtles also suffer from habitat degradation due to mining and logging. The introduction of Water buffalo and other livestock poses another serious threat as they destroy nesting sites and also graze on the water vegetation that Pig-nosed turtles feed on.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Pig-nosed turtle total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...