Heosemys annandalii

(Boulenger, 1903)

Vernacular names
English : Yellow-headed temple turtle
French : Tortue des temples

Classification
Class : Reptilia
Order : Testudines
Family : Geoemydidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
The species can reach up to 50 cm in shell length. Large head with two pointed projections on upper jaw. Large feet. Shell strongly domed, mostly black, plastron orange with dark blotches. Yellow head, neck with yellow stripes.

Range and habitat
The species occurs in south-east Asia , from Thailand to Cambodia and Vietnam, also north Malaysia. Lake Tonle Sap is (or at least was) a stronghold. Lives in slow moving rivers, canals, ponds, flooded fields in lowlands.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
CITES : Appendix II
Status : This species is highly threatened by the unsustainable levels of exploitation in most of its range. Habitat loss and pollution are also major threats.
Ex-Situ Programs : SSP in America

Observation

 

Back to “Freshwater Turtles” page