Species Fact Profile: Painted Terrapin (Batagur borneoensis)

Painted Terrapin

Batagur borneoensis (Schlegel & Muller, 1844)

Range: Southeast Asia and Indonesia

Habitat: Inland Estuaries, Tidal Areas, Large Rivers, Mangrove Swamps

Diet: Fruits, Shoots, Aquatic Plants, Aquatic Invertebrates

Social Grouping: Solitary, generally only interact during breeding season

Reproduction: Both sexes have multiple mates, with males competin for access to females.  Believed to breed in water at night.  Females migrate up to 3 kilometers to nest beaches, sometimes nesting alongside sea turtles at low tide.  Nest 2-3 times per year, laying up to 25 eggs each time in a hole dug in the sand.  Eggs incubated 70-90 days.  Young are independent at 6-8 years

Lifespan: Estimated 40-80 Years

Conservation Status: IUCN Critically Endangered, CITES Appendix II

• Females reach lengths of over 60 centimeters (up to 80 centimeters), males usually only reach 30-40 centimeters.  Weight is up to 25 kilograms (usually 7 kilograms for males, 17 for females)
• Very sexually dimorphic.  In males, shell is green or brownish grey, with three black longitudinal lines  – may be continuous or broken slightly.  There may also be black markings along the rim of the shell.  The head is black or grey with a dull orange stripe running behind the eyes to the snout.  In females, the shell is drab brown – they also have the three black lines, but these many obscure with age.  The head is grey or brown, fading with age.  Limbs of both sexes are olive green or grey
• Both sexes experience seasonal color changes.  During the mating season, the male lightens in color until the head is stark white and the stripe becomes bright red, edged with black and the shell stripes become bolder.  During this time the female’s head becomes redder.  In captivity, some turtles have been observed changing color three or four times a year
• The snout is upturned like a snorkel, which makes it easy to feed on items floating on surface of the water.  The beak is somewhat serrated, giving it the alternate name of saw-jawed turtle
• Have been observed feeding on fruit dropped from trees by leaf monkeys, following them.  Likewise, they will readily swim up to people who they associate with food
• Lack salt-excreting glands, can only remain in sea water for a brief period of time.  Hatchlings must migrate through saltwater after hatching for two weeks, but need to eventually settle in water that is at least 50% fresh
• Have declined dramatically throughout range, with only 1-2 rivers home to more than 100 individuals.  Major threat is hunting for meat and eggs. Their predictable nesting behavior makes them vulnerable to hunters, who can steal an entire nest of eggs in one raid.  One egg is worth five times as much as a chicken egg on local markets.    Traditional belief (becoming trendy lately) that consuming turtle blood will improve athletic performance