Amazing Setiu: River Terrapin
Post-nesting female river terrapin photographed by the nesting bank, Tebing Pasir Penarik in Setiu. Photo credit: P.N. Chen. Common name: River terrapin Scientific name: Batagur affinis Local Malaysian name: Tuntung sungai Conservation status : Listed as critically endangered in the 2009 IUCN Red List and in CITES Appendix I Adult female shell length: 50 – 60 cm Adult female body weight: 15 – 35 kg Food: Adults are mainly herbivorous, feeding on mangrove apple ( Sonneratia sp.), sedges ( Scleria sp.), screw pine ( Pandanus sp.), Colocasia ( Ficus sp.) and water hyacinth ( Eichornia crassipes ) Range: Tidal portions of major rivers in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia A male river terrapin during the nesting season. Photo credit: P.N. Chen. Nesting sites in Malaysia: Terengganu (Terengganu, Dungun, Besut, Setiu-Chalok rivers), Kedah river systems, Perak river systems and Pahang river syst...