Arrau turtle

For the pianist, see Claudio Arrau.

Arrau
Conservation status
Conservation Dependent  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Family:	Podocnemididae
Genus:	Podocnemis
Species:	P. expansa
Binomial name
Podocnemis expansa Schweigger 1812

The Arrau turtle also known as the Arrau River Turtle is the largest of the side-neck turles. Females have wide flattened shellas 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 sea, 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 a endangered species and is protected in most areas.

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--Platypus929 (talk) 02:50, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

External links

• Oregon Zoo
• [[[Image:http://www.freewebs.com/platypus929/]]