The red-headed Amazon side-necked turtle, red-headed river turtle or red-headed sideneck (''Podocnemis erythrocephala'') 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 ...

in the family

Podocnemididae Podocnemididae is a family of pleurodire (side-necked) turtles, once widely distributed. Most of its 41 genera and 57 species are now extinct. Seven of its eight surviving species are native to South America: the genus '' Peltocephalus'', with tw ...

. It is found in the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Description

With a size of less than , and weighing usually less than , the red-headed river turtle is considered a small one for the area, making it easily distinguishable from other local species. Identifying features of this turtle include colors ranging from dark brown to black, barbels under the chin, and a bright red strip that goes from behind its head to the tympanum, which is the reason for its name, giving it the red-headed moniker.

Behaviors

Reproduction

Females will lay anywhere from 2-18 eggs about 4 times a year, though on average will lay about 8. They will nest either on sandy beaches or near the riverside, but ideally prefer extremely dirty water. Like many other turtles, they rely upon

temperature-dependent sex determination Temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) is a type of environmental sex determination in which the temperatures experienced during embryonic/larval development determine the sex of the offspring. It is observed in reptiles and teleost fish, ...

Diet

This species is

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat n ...

, and prefers to eat fruits and seeds. It serves an important ecological role because of this, since they serve as important carriers and a dispersal method for many plants and trees in its habitats. Additionally, with all the plant matter it eats, it helps clean the rivers of debris, and serves as nutrient cyclers.

Conservation

This turtle faces some risk from humans, as it is hunted as adults and eggs for sale on the black market in Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela, despite being protected by law in all three countries. Often, it is poached in or around its common nesting sites. Historically, it has also been consumed as a food source and natural resource for centuries. Currently, this turtle is listed as vulnerable on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

, however that evaluation took place in 1996.

References

Podocnemis Fauna of the Amazon Turtles of South America Turtles of Brazil Reptiles of Colombia Reptiles of Venezuela Vulnerable animals Vulnerable biota of South America Reptiles described in 1824 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Turtle-stub