Painted Terrapin

Painted Terrapin
Tuntung Laut in Malay

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
Adults are 3.5 to 4 feet in carapace length (76-91 cm). Weighing between 300 to 400 pounds(136-180 kg). The largest ever found was 5 feet (152 cm) in length and 871 pounds (395 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.