The painted terrapin, painted batagur, or saw-jawed turtle (''Batagur borneoensis'') is a species of

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

s in the family

Geoemydidae The Geoemydidae (formerly known as Bataguridae) are one of the largest and most diverse families in the order Testudines (turtles), with about 70 species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two in ...

. It was formerly in its own genus, ''Callagur'', but has been reclassified to the genus, ''

Batagur ''Batagur'' is a genus of large turtles from South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. All members of the genus are seriously Threatened species, threatened. With a 2007 merger with members from two other genera,Praschag, Peter; Hundsdörfer, Anna K ...

''.

Distribution

It is distributed in the

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

(

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

and

Kalimantan Kalimantan (; ) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Ind ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, and

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. File:Malaysian Painted River Turtle.jpg, At

Newport Aquarium The Newport Aquarium is a public public aquarium, aquarium located in Newport, Kentucky. Overview The Newport Aquarium located within the Newport on the Levee shopping mall is owned by Herschend Family Entertainment. Newport Aquarium is an a ...

, Newport, Kentucky File:Painted Terrapin (Batagur borneoensis) (7781281590).jpg, In captivity, Thailand File:Painted Terrapin egg.jpg, Painted Terrapin eggs at the

San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in San Diego, California, United States, located in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park. It began with a collection of animals left over from the 1915 Panama–California Exposition that were brought together by its ...

Status

The painted terrapin is critically endangered species according to

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

, listed in ''The World's Most 25 Endangered Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises 2011''. It is listed in Appendix II, with a zero quota for commercial trade of wild-captured specimens according to the

CITES CITES (shorter acronym for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of inte ...

meeting in Thailand, March 2013. ''Batagur borneoensis'' is a priority species to be conserved in Indonesia according to Minister of Forestry Decree No. 57 Year 2008 about Strategic Direction of National Species Conservation 2008–18. In Malaysia, this species is protected by the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

Threats

Harvesting by fishermen to eat, poaching to meet pet and food demand, habitat loss due to land conversion to palm oil, and fish and shrimp farming are major threats.

Conservation

Conservation efforts in Sumatra, Indonesia, are ongoing to increase wild populations by carrying out nesting patrols to secure and hatch the eggs, for later release into original habitats. In

, the painted terrapin is protected through the WWF's hawksbill turtle and painted terrapin conservation project. The project aims establish the protection and effective management of critical nesting habitats of painted terrapins and their key habitats, through measures that are scientifically based and socially acceptable, and that can be sustained in the long term by government, the local community and other stakeholders.

References

External links

Photos of ''Callagur borneoensis'' at Empire of the Turtle

Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises Initiative in Sumatra
photos, education, field research, captive breeding {{Taxonbar, from=Q1827817 Batagur Reptiles of Indonesia Reptiles described in 1844 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot