Hey, look @ this turtle!
The Loneliest Animals →
Showcases the breeding attempts and nesting hopes for the very last female Rafetus (the Yangtze river turtle). There are only four individuals left of the species, with only one female. Lonesome George also makes an appearance; the last of his species-the Pinto tortoise of the famed Galapagos Islands, he died last year.
Arakan Forest turtle hatchlings
“Arakan forest turtles lay two to six eggs, usually once a year, that incubate for 120 to 130 days at 80 to 84 degrees F. Little is known about their life cycle. Successful breeding started about five years ago, and those young are not sexually mature yet. Eggs take approximately six weeks to be produced.”
http://www.zooatlanta.org/home/animals/reptiles/arakan_forest_turtle
View Larger How you can help:Support organizations like the Turtle Survival Alliance, who rely on private donations to establish assurance colonies (like the one in the above photo) to save turtle species from extinction. They also have facilities to help rehab confiscated turtles from the illegal wildlife trade.
Arakan Forest turtle (Heosemys depressa)
Threats: “Arakan forest turtles are critically endangered, and natural populations are ever decreasing due to habitat loss and collection for Asian food markets. Once thought extinct in the wild, the Arakan forest turtle was rediscovered in an Asian food market in 1994. These turtles are collected for food and for their mystical medicinal cures. Habitat loss is due to agricultural expansion, logging and bamboo harvesting.”
http://www.zooatlanta.org/home/animals/reptiles/arakan_forest_turtle
(Source: turtleconservancy.org)
Turtle Conservancy - Arakan Forest Turtle Basking (by turtleconservancy)
Arakan forest turtle - Heosemys depressa - world turtle month (day 3) →
Description:”The carapace of this medium-sized turtle is light brown, with some individuals exhibiting black mottling or a black border, and the shell edge is distinctly serrated at the back (2) (5). The yellow to tan coloured plastron is marked with dark brown to black blotches or radiating streaks on each scute (2)(5). The head is uniformly grey to brown, the soft skin of the neck, limbs and tail is pale yellowish-brown, while the large scales on the legs are nearly black (2) (5). The claws are large and strong, with half-webbed toes on the forelimbs, but only basal webbing on the hindlimbs”
Habitat/ range:The Arakan forest turtle is endemic to the Arakan Yoma Hill range of western Myanmar
Diet:Due to its rarity and only relatively recent rediscovery, virtually nothing is known about The Arakan forest turtle in the wild (2). Captive individuals are apparently omnivorous, feeding on bananas, strawberries, romaine lettuce, earthworms and newborn mice (2), but hunters have reported that vegetation, fruit, and mushrooms constitute the bulk of the diet in the wild.”
Turtle Known Only From Asian Markets Finally Found in Wild | Wired Science | Wired.com →
Threats:Humans-heavily captured for Vietnamese and Chinese food markets where demand continues to grow. “Captive populations have suffered from high losses, and at present [2011] probably less than 100 specimens remain in captivity.”
Southern Vietnam Box Turtle (Cuora picturata)
IUCN Red List: NE, Not Evaluated; TFTSG Draft: CR, Critically Endangered
(Source: asianturtleprogram.org)
Southern Vietnam Box Turtle (Cuora picturata)
aka Lesser Indochinese Box Turtle
Description:
“This species has the highest domed carapace of all Cuora species, the shape resembling a Conquistator helmet. While the head coloration of Cuora galbinifrons subspecies is highly variable even in different populations, this is not the case with C.picturata, where the head is always yellow with a fine greyish reticulation.”
http://eol.org/pages/1281266/details
Range: “believed to originate from the southern parts of the Vietnamese central highlands region of the Annamite mountain range”
http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/top_25__turtles_in_trouble_2011__2_.pdf
Diet:?
(Source: Wired)
