Amazing Setiu: Painted Terrapin @ Tuntung Laut

A male painted terrapin photographed by the Setiu River. Photo credit: P.N. Chen.

Common name: Painted terrapin
Scientific name: Batagur borneoensis
Local Malaysian name: Tuntung laut

Conservation status: Listed as critically endangered in the 2009 IUCN Red List and in CITES Appendix I

Adult female shell length: 40 – 55 cm
Adult female body weight: 15 – 30 kg

Food: Adults are mainly herbivorous, feeding on fruits of the mangrove apple (Sonneratia caseolaris),  screw pine (Pandanus spp.) and rose apple (Eugenia sp.) as well as the leaves, fruits, flowers, stems and roots of selected riparian plants.

Range: Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia (Sumatra and Borneo)

Nesting sites in Malaysia: Terengganu

Characteristics: Upturned snout, five front claws, black patches on the carapace

Sexual dimorphism: Adult males are smaller than adult females. During the nesting season, the male’s head turns white and a red stripe appears between the eyes

Nesting season: June to August

Number of nests deposited per individual per season: Unknown

Inter-nesting interval (interval between each nesting): Unknown

Number of eggs per nest: Unknown

Incubation duration: Unknown

Hatchling shell length: 7 – 10 cm
Hatchling body weight: 60 – 80 g

@http://www.turtleconservationsociety.org.my/