Giant Asian pond turtle

The Giant Asian pond turtle (Heosemys grandis) inhabits rivers, streams, marshes, and rice paddies from estuarine lowlands to moderate altitudes (up to about 400 m) throughout Cambodia and Vietnam and in parts of Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand.[3]

Giant Asian pond turtle
Kaeng Krachan District, Phetchaburi, Thailand
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Testudinoidea
Family: Geoemydidae
Genus: Heosemys
Species:
H. grandis
Binomial name
Heosemys grandis
(Gray, 1860)[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Geoemyda grandis Gray, 1860
  • Clemmys grandis Strauch, 1862
  • Heosemys grandis Stejneger, 1902

Description

Slight variations in coloration can be seen among the species. The carapace of the Giant Asian pond turtle has a brown to black coloration with a distinct ridge along the center while the plastron is yellow in color. The head is gray to brown in color.[4]

Habitat and Behavior

Capable of living in water or on land the Giant Asian pond turtle can be located along bodies of water such as lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, and canals. The Giant Asian pond turtle is omnivorous and finds food in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. Their diets consist of worms, larvae, insects, snails, deceased animals, and aquatic and terrestrial plants.[5] Similarly to other species of turtles, the Giant Asian pond turtle has developed adaptations and different techniques for capturing prey in both types of environments.[6]

Major Threats

A large area of concern is from the illegal capture and export of these turtles for use as food and pets in parts of Asia.[7]

  • Heosemys grandis (adult, carapace) - Kaeng Krachan District, Phetchaburi
  • Heosemys grandis (adult, plastron) - Kaeng Krachan District, Phetchaburi.
  • Heosemys grandis (juvenile) - Tha Yang District, Phetchaburi
  • Heosemys grandis (juvenile, carapace) - Tha Yang District, Phetchaburi
  • Heosemys grandis (juvenile, plastron) - Tha Yang District, Phetchaburi
  • Giant Asian pond turtle in Singapore Zoo

References
  1. Artner, H. (2008). "The World's Extant Turtle Species" (PDF). Emys. 15 (3). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 12, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  2. Fritz Uwe; Peter Havaš (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 224. ISSN 1864-5755. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  3. Rhodin, Anders G.J.; Inverson, John B.; Roger, Bour; Fritz, Uwe; Georges, Arthur; Shaffer, H. Bradley; van Dijk, Peter Paul; et al. (Turtle Taxonomy Working Group) (August 3, 2017). Rhodin A G.J.; Iverson J.B.; van Dijk P.P.; Saumure R.A.; Buhlmann K.A.; Pritchard P.C.H.; Mittermeier R.A. (eds.). "Turtles of the world, 2017 update: Annotated checklist and atlas of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution, and conservation status(8th Ed.)" (PDF). Chelonian Research Monographs. Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (8 ed.). 7: 1–292. doi:10.3854/crm.7.checklist.atlas.v8.2017. ISBN 978-1-5323-5026-9. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  4. Giant Asian pond turtle photos and facts. (n.d.). http://www.arkive.org/giant-asian-pond-turtle/heosemys-grandis/ Archived 2018-03-21 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Lintner M, Weissenbacher A, Heiss E (2012) The Oropharyngeal Morphology in the Semiaquatic Giant Asian Pond Turtle, Heosemys grandis, and Its Evolutionary Implications. PLOS ONE 7(9): e46344. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0046344
  6. Summers, A. P., Darouian, K. F., Richmond, A. M., & Brainerd, E. L. (1998). Kinematics of aquatic and terrestrial prey capture inTerrapene carolina, with implications for the evolution of feeding in cryptodire turtles. The Journal of Experimental Zoology, 281(4), 280-287. doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-010x(19980701)281:43.0.co;2-k
  7. Van Dijk, P. P., Stuart, B. L., & Rhodin, A. G. (Eds.). (2000). Asian Turtle Trade: Proceedings of a Workshop on Conservation and Trade of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises in Asia. Chelonian Research Monographs, 2.
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