Arrau
Encyclopedia
The Arrau turtle, Podocnemis expansa, also known as the Charapa turtle, Arrau River Turtle, Tartaruga-da-amazônia, or Araú, is the largest of the side-neck turtles (Pleurodira
). It is found in the Amazon River
and its tributaries (Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela. and so on). Adults often reach 1 m in length. Females have wide flattened shells and are larger and more numerous than the males. Adult Arraus feed entirely on plant food. The nesting habits of this species are similar to those of their sea turtle kindred. Like sea turtles they gather in huge numbers in order to travel to suitable nesting areas. The females lay their eggs on sandbanks which are exposed only in the dry season, and there are relatively few such sites. The females come out on the sandbanks at night to lay their eggs which can number anywhere from 90 to 100 soft-shelled eggs. They then return to their feeding grounds. The young when hatched are around 2 in long dart directly for the water, but they emerge to the attentions of many predators and even without man's activities, only about five percent ever reach the adult feeding grounds. Because of this it is an endangered species and is protected in most areas.
Pleurodira
The Pleurodira are one of the two living suborders of turtles, the other being the Cryptodira. In many cases in the nomenclature of animals, ranks such as suborder are considered of little importance apart from nomenclatural or taxonomic reasons. However, this is not the case with the suborders of...
). It is found in the Amazon River
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
and its tributaries (Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela. and so on). Adults often reach 1 m in length. Females have wide flattened shells and are larger and more numerous than the males. Adult Arraus feed entirely on plant food. The nesting habits of this species are similar to those of their sea turtle kindred. Like sea turtles they gather in huge numbers in order to travel to suitable nesting areas. The females lay their eggs on sandbanks which are exposed only in the dry season, and there are relatively few such sites. The females come out on the sandbanks at night to lay their eggs which can number anywhere from 90 to 100 soft-shelled eggs. They then return to their feeding grounds. The young when hatched are around 2 in long dart directly for the water, but they emerge to the attentions of many predators and even without man's activities, only about five percent ever reach the adult feeding grounds. Because of this it is an endangered species and is protected in most areas.