Arrau turtle

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Species of turtle

title: "Arrau turtle" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["podocnemis", "turtles-of-south-america", "fauna-of-the-amazon", "reptiles-of-bolivia", "turtles-of-brazil", "reptiles-of-colombia", "reptiles-of-ecuador", "reptiles-of-guyana", "reptiles-of-peru", "reptiles-of-venezuela", "reptiles-described-in-1812"] description: "Species of turtle" topic_path: "geography/brazil" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrau_turtle" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Species of turtle ::

| image = Podocnemis expansa INPA.jpg | image2 = Podocnemis expansa head from Venezolana.jpg | status = LR/cd | status_system = IUCN2.3 | status_ref = | status2 = CITES_A2 | status2_system = CITES | status2_ref = | genus = Podocnemis | species = expansa | authority = (Schweigger, 1812) | range_map = Arrau (Podocnemis expansa).PNG | synonyms =

  • Emys expansa Schweigger, 1812
  • Emys amazonica Spix, 1824
  • Podocnemis expansa Wagler, 1830
  • Emys arrau Schinz, 1833

The Arrau turtle (Podocnemis expansa), also known as the South American river turtle, giant South American turtle, giant Amazon River turtle, Arrau sideneck turtle, Amazon River turtle or simply the Arrau, is the largest of the side-neck turtles (Pleurodira) and the largest freshwater turtle in Latin America.

Range and habitat

Arrau turtles are found in the Amazon, Orinoco and Essequibo basins in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Guyana.

Appearance

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Podocnemis_expansa_36879203_(cropped).jpg" caption="Basking in [[Colombia"] ::

Arrau turtles can reach up to 90 kg in weight and the carapace length is up to 1.07 m. Most individuals are considerably smaller with the average adult female having a carapace length of 64-71 cm and the average adult male 40-50 cm. In addition to an overall smaller size, males can be recognized by their longer tail and straighter carapace than the females.

Arrau turtles are brown, gray or olive-green, but the exact color varies depending on the algae growing on the carapace.

Behavior

Feeding

Adult Arrau turtles feed almost entirely on plant material such as fruits, seeds, leaves, legumes and algae, but may also take freshwater sponges, eggs and carcasses of dead animals (such as dead fish). Captives have been recorded feeding on meat. Juveniles feed on fish and plant material. The species is mainly active during the day.

Breeding and life cycle

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Tortuga-arrau.jpg" caption="Young in Venezuela"] ::

When nearing the breeding season, Arrau turtles migrate to certain sites where the eggs are laid. In some locations, nesting occurs in large groups on beaches, which reduces the risk posed by predators. Some beaches have as many as 500 nesting females. Mating occurs in the water. During and just before the nesting season the species frequently basks, typically in groups. It is suspected that the additional heat accelerates the ovulation in the females. At other times the species is generally not found on land. When on land, it is usually very shy and retreats to the water at the slightest hint of danger.

The female lays an average of 75–123 eggs (average varies depending on region), which are placed during the night in a 60-80 cm deep nest that is dug on the beach. The eggs are laid during the low water season and hatch as the water starts to rise. If it rises too fast or too early, the nest is flooded and the young die within the eggs. As long as nests are not dug up by predators, the hatching success rate is usually high, averaging at 83%.

The eggs hatch after about 50 days and the sex of the young depends on the nest temperature (females at higher temperatures, males at lower). When hatching, the young are around 5 cm long and dart directly for the water, but they emerge to the attentions of many predators so that only about five percent ever reach the adult feeding grounds. When hatching, the females emit sounds which attract the young; they stay together for a period in the flooded forests. Vocalizations appear to play an important role in the social life of this turtle and in addition to the "connect to newly hatched young" sound, four primary sounds have been documented during the nesting season: one used during migration, one before basking, one when nesting at night and finally one when in the water after nesting.

They can reach an age of 20 years or more in the wild, and captives have lived for at least 25 years. Based on certain scientific models it has been estimated that the largest individuals perhaps are as old as 80 years.

Conservation status

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Podocnemis_expansa_in_Zoo_Krefeld_(1).JPG" caption="Facility for raising Arrau turtles in Venezuela"] ::

The Arrau turtle is widespread and was not considered threatened overall by the IUCN in 1996 (the year of the last full review), A number of conservation projects have been initiated. For example, 54 nesting beaches have been protected in Brazil, beaches used by more than 1,000 females are protected in Colombia, and since the mid-1990s many thousand eggs have been collected in Venezuela for safe incubation, the hatchlings "headstarted" (getting them through the most dangerous period) and then released. All species in the genus Podocnemis are listed on CITES Appendix II.

The slow growth limits its potential for major commercial turtle farming. and some of these keep Arrau turtles, also in semi-intensive farm systems.

References

References

  1. Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. (1996). "''Podocnemis expansa''". [[IUCN]].
  2. "Appendices {{!}} CITES".
  3. [http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Podocnemis&species=expansa&search_param=%28%28genus%3D%27Podocnemis%27%2Cexact%29%29 ''Podocnemis expansa''], The Reptile Database
  4. (3 August 2017). "Turtles of the world, 2017 update: Annotated checklist and atlas of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution, and conservation status(8th Ed.)". Chelonian Research Monographs.
  5. Rivas, D.. (2015). "''Podocnemis expansa'' (Arrau Sideneck Turtle)".
  6. Mogollones, S.C.. (2010). "A Demographic Study of the Arrau Turtle (''Podocnemis expansa'') in the Middle Orinoco River, Venezuela". Chelonian Conservation and Biology.
  7. Overduin, M.. (2 September 2015). "More Than 1,000 Turtles and Nests Protected in Colombia". Turtle Survival Alliance.
  8. Vanzolini, P.E.. (2003). "On clutch size and hatching success of the South American turtles ''Podocnemis expansa'' (Schweigger, 1812) and P. unifilis Troschel, 1848 (Testudines, Podocnemididae)". Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências.
  9. Alves, R.R.N.. (2008). "Use and commercialization of ''Podocnemis expansa'' (Schweiger 1812) (Testudines: Podocnemididae) for medicinal purposes in two communities in North of Brazil". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine.
  10. "''Podocnemis expansa''". INCT CENBAM, [[INPA]].
  11. Rivas, D.. "Arrau turtle". Oregon Zoo.
  12. Ferrara, C.R.. (2010). "''Podocnemis expansa'' (Giant South American River Turtle). Basking before the nesting season".
  13. The Simon and Schuster Encyclopedia of Animals
  14. Ferrara, C.R.. (2014). "Sound Communication and Social Behavior in an Amazonian River Turtle (''Podocnemis expansa'')". Herpetologica.
  15. Hernandez, O.. (2006). "Efectos del reforzamiento sobre la población de Tortuga Arrau (''Podocnemis expansa'') en el Orinoco medio, Venezuela". Interciencia.
  16. Pantoja-Lima. (2014). "Chain of commercialization of ''Podocnemis'' spp. turtles (Testudines: Podocnemididae) in the Purus River, Amazon basin, Brazil: current status and perspectives". J Ethnobiol Ethnomed.
  17. Sá. (2004). "Crescimento ponderal de filhotes de tartaruga gigante da Amazônia (''Podocnemis expansa'') submetidos a tratamento com rações isocalóricas contendo diferentes níveis de proteína bruta". Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia.
  18. Aguiar, J.C.. (2017). "Morphology and molecular phylogeny of a new ''Myxidium'' species (Cnidaria: Myxosporea) infecting the farmed turtle ''Podocnemis expansa'' (Testudines: Podocnemididae) in the Brazilian Amazon". Parasitology International.

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podocnemisturtles-of-south-americafauna-of-the-amazonreptiles-of-boliviaturtles-of-brazilreptiles-of-colombiareptiles-of-ecuadorreptiles-of-guyanareptiles-of-perureptiles-of-venezuelareptiles-described-in-1812