Batagur

QUICK INDEX

B. affinis, Southern River Terrapin

B. baska, Batagur, Northern River Terrapin

B. borneoensis, Painted Terrapin

B. dhongoka, Dhoor, Three-Striped Roofed Terrapin

B. kachuga, Red Crowned Roofed Terrapin

B. trivittata, Burmese Roofed Turtle

Species Name

Common Name

Location

Size

Notes

Batagur

B. affinis

Southern River Terrapin

Myanmar, S Thailand, Cambodia, S Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia (Sumatra)

B. a. affinis

Western Malay River Terrapin

W Malaysia, Indonesia (Sumatra)

B. a. edwardmolli

Eastern Malay River Terrapin

Cambodia, E Malaysia

B. baska

Batagur, Northern River Terrapin

India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, S Thailand, Cambodia, West Malaysia

56 cm

This species is found in the mouths of rivers that are under tidal influence and mangrove-dominated. Diet includes molluscs, crustaceans and fishes as well as the fruits of Sonneratia, a mangrove plant, and leaves, stems and other fruits. B. baska is on Appendix I of CITES. Carapace: moderately depressed, with a vertebral keel in the young, which disappears in the adult; nuchal broader than long; first vertebral as broad in front as behind, or a little broader; vertebrals 2 to 4 subequal, much broader than long in the young, nearly as long as broad and as broad as the costals in the adult the postero-lateral border of the third vertebral strongly concave. Plastron: large, strongly angulatcd laterally in the young, convex in the adult, truncate anteriorly, angularly notched posteriorly; the width of the bridge exceeds the length of the posterior lobe; the longest median suture is that between the abdominals, the shortest that between the gulars, which is never more than half that between the humerals; inguinal large, axillary smaller. Head: rather small; snout pointed, produced, directed upwards; jaws with denticulated edge, upper feebly notched mesially; the width of the lower jaw at the symphysis nearly equal the diameter of the orbit. Limbs with transversely enlarged, band-like scales. Coloration: upper surface of shell and soft parts olive-brown, lower surface yellowish. Reproduction: a clutch of 19-37 eggs was recorded from India. Incubation period is 61-66 days. In Peninsular Malaysia, the breeding season is December-February, usually after monsoons. Three nests a year are laid, with an average of 24 eggs per nest. [SOURCE: Boulenger, Lim and Das]

B. borneoensis

Painted Terrapin, Biuku

S Thailand, West Malaysia, Indonesia (Borneo, Sumatra)

The Painted Terrapin prefers large river systems and tidal estuaries, being tolerant of conditions of up to 50% salinity. It lives in mangrove forests and feeds on mangrove fruits and leaves, as well as shellfish. Carapace: strong continuous vertebral and a feeble interrupted costal keel in the young; these keels disappearing in the adult; nuchal absent or extremely small and linear; first vertebral as broad in front as behind, or a little broader; vertebrals 2 to 4 subequal in length, much broader than long in the young, nearly as long as broad, and nearly as broad as the costals, in the adult; postero-lateral border of the third vertebral concave. Plastron: large, strongly angulated laterally in the young, convex in the adult, truncate anteriorly, notched posteriorly ; the width of the bridge exceeds the length of the posterior lobe : the longest median suture is that between the abdominals, the shortest that between the gulars, which is about half that of the interhumeral suture: inguinal large, axillary smaller. Head: rather small; snout pointed, produced; jaws with denticulated edge, upper feebly notched mesially; the width of the lower jaw at the symphysis is a little less than the diameter of the orbit. Limbs with transversely enlarged, band-like scales. Coloration: brown above, yellowish inferiorly; carapace with three broad blackish longitudinal bands. Males in the breeding season have a pale olive-grey carapace with three longitudinal black lines and black spots on the marginals, bright white head and upper neck, black-edged red patch on the forehead, and black jaws: outside the breeding season, the coloration is greyer and the forehead patch orange. Reproduction: in Peninsular Malaysia, mating takes place January-February. In a season, 1-3 clutches each of 15-24 eggs are laid. Incubation time is 85-98 days at 31 deg C. [SOURCE: Boulenger, Lim and Das]

B. dhongoka

Dhoor, Three-Striped Roofed Terrapin

SE Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam (Annam)

??cm.

Carapace: much depressed, keeled in the young, the keel reduced to a knob on each of the anterior vertebrals in the adult; posterior margin crenulated. Nuchal shield small, trapezoid, broadest behind; first vertebral usually narrower in front than behind, with sinuous lateral borders; second vertebral broader than long in the young, longer than broad in the adult, posterior border pointed or more or less produced, fitting into an emargination of the third vertebral, which is shorter than either the second or the third. Plastron: angulated laterally in the young; front lobe truncate, hind lobe angularly notched, shorter than the width of the bridge; the longest median suture is between the abdominals; suture between the gulars as long or nearly as long as that between the humerals; the suture between gulars and humerals forms a right angle and that between humerals and pectorals a straight transverse line; inguinal large, axillary smaller. Jaws and soft parts as in B. trivittata. Coloration: brown above, yellowish inferiorly; carapace with three more or less distinct black longitudinal bands. [SOURCE: Boulenger]

B. kachuga

Red Crowned Roofed Terrapin

N India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China (Yunnan and Guangxi), W Malaysia, Philippines (Palawan etc), Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Bali)

37 cm

Carapace: strongly keeled in the young, the keels tubercular posteriorly on the second and third vertebral shields, posterior margin strongly crenulated; the marginal serrature disappears in adolescent specimens, and the vertebral keel, alter being reduced to a series of low knobs, vanishes entirely in the full-grown, the carapace of which is very convex. Nuchal shield small, trapezoid, broadest posteriorly; first vertebral as broad in front as behind, or broader; second vertebral longer than third, with which it forms a straight transverse suture; fourth longest and forming a broad suture with the third; second vertebral broader than long in the young, as long as broad in the adult. Plastron: angulated laterally in the young; anterior and posterior lobes rather narrow and shorter than the width of the bridge, truncate anteriorly, openly notched posteriorly; the longest median suture is between the abdominals, the shortest between the gulars, which equals about one half that between the humerals; the suture between gulars and humerals forms an obtuse angle, and so does that between humerals and pectorals; inguinal large, axillary smaller. Head: moderate; snout obtuse, moderately prominent; jaws with denticulated edge, upper not notched mesially; alveolar surfaces very broad, the median ridge of the upper jaw being somewhat nearer the outer than the inner margin; choanae behind the line of the posterior borders of the orbits; the width of the lower jaw at the symphysis equals the diameter of the orbit. Limbs with transversely enlarged, band-like scales. Coloration: Brown above, yellowish interiorly; nape with red longitudinal lines. [SOURCE: Boulenger]

B. trivittata

Burmese Roofed Turtle

Burma (Irrawaddy and Salween river systems), China

55 cm

Differs from B. kachuga in the much narrower alveolar surface of the jaws, the median ridge of the upper jaw being nearer the inner than the outer margin; choanae between the orbits; the width of the lower jaw at the symphysis is less than the diameter of the orbit. Considerable uncertainty prevails in the distinction of isolated shells of this species from the preceding. The male B. trivittata is characterized by three black longitudinal bands on the carapace, which are absent in the female according to Theobald. [SOURCE: Boulenger]