Twist-necked turtle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Twist-necked turtle |
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Platemys
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| Species: |
platycephala
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The twist-necked turtle (Platemys platycephala) is also known as the flat-headed turtle. It lives across northern South America. These turtles have very flat shells. This helps them hide from animals that might want to eat them, like under rocks or leaves. When a twist-necked turtle feels unsafe, it pulls its head into its shell by twisting it sideways.
P. platycephala is the only type of turtle in its group, called Platemys. Its name means "flat turtle, flat-head," which describes its shape well. This turtle lives in shallow creeks and looks for food on the ground of the Amazon rainforest. It eats insects, small amphibians, and snails. Its special body shape and colors help it blend in, which allows it to live in many parts of South America.
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What Makes This Turtle Special?
The twist-necked turtle is the only species in the Platemys group. You can tell it apart from similar turtles by its very flat body. Both its shell and its head are flat. It also has two unusual grooves on its top shell, called the carapace.
This turtle lives in a much wider area than its close relatives. Its orange and brown head colors help it hide. They look like the fallen leaves in the shallow pools and creek beds where it lives.
How to Describe the Twist-Necked Turtle
The twist-necked turtle is a medium-sized turtle. Its shell can be about 14 to 18 centimeters (5.5 to 7 inches) long. Female turtles are usually a bit smaller and have shorter tails.
Its top shell (carapace) is flat and shaped like an oval. It has two raised parts that form a dip in the middle. The carapace can be orange, yellow-brown, and black. The bottom shell (plastron) is dark brown or black. The sides of the shell (bridge) are yellow with a black stripe.
The turtle's face and neck have orange or yellow-brown stripes on top. They also have black stripes on the sides and underneath. Its head is small, triangle-shaped, and smooth. The neck has small bumps and scales that help protect it from predators.
This turtle is part of a group called Pleurodira. These turtles pull their heads into their shells by bending their necks to the side. Other turtles pull their heads straight back. The twist-necked turtle has a slightly sticking-out snout and brown eyes. Its black legs have large scales on the front. Its tail is short and black. It has webbing between its toes, which helps it move in both water and on land.
Genetics and Unique Traits
Scientists have studied the genetics of the twist-necked turtle. They found something interesting about its cells. Most animals have two sets of chromosomes in their body cells (called diploid). But some twist-necked turtles in Suriname have cells with different numbers of chromosome sets. This is called mosaicism. It means an individual can have both diploid cells and cells with three sets of chromosomes (triploid).
This is rare in animals with backbones. It means that different cells in the same turtle can have different genetic makeups. Even with these differences, the turtles can still reproduce normally. Scientists are still studying how widespread this is in different populations across South America.
Where Twist-Necked Turtles Live
The twist-necked turtle lives in a large area of northern and central South America. You can find it from Venezuela down to the Amazon basin. However, these turtles do not live in big rivers. Instead, they prefer shallow creeks and the floor of the forest.
Scientists have found a darker type of twist-necked turtle in the western part of its range. This might be because of big climate changes that happened long ago. These changes caused rainforests to shrink and grow. This led to different groups of turtles becoming separate and developing new traits, creating a new subspecies.
Types of Twist-Necked Turtles
There are two main types, or subspecies, of the twist-necked turtle:
- P. p. platycephala: This type lives in most of the central and eastern areas. This includes Brazil, the Guianas, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, and parts of Peru.
- P. p. melanonota: This type lives in the western areas, like Ecuador and nearby northern Peru. It is also called the western twist-necked turtle or black-backed twist-necked turtle. The main difference is that P. p. melanonota has a completely dark brown or black top shell.
How They Live in Their Environment
The colors and shape of the twist-necked turtle's shell, head, and feet help it hide from predators in the Amazon. These turtles naturally eat amphibian eggs and various insects, snails, slugs, and some plants. They find food both on land and in the water.
In zoos or at home, they can eat reptile food, vegetables, insects, worms, and even fish. Twist-necked turtles like shallow pools. They can also survive in dry areas for a long time. During the dry season, some turtles can get many leeches attached to them.
Life Cycle and Reproduction
Young twist-necked turtles, called hatchlings, look like their parents. But they have brighter colors. Hatchlings are about 4 to 6 centimeters (1.5 to 2.3 inches) long and weigh about 20 grams (0.7 ounces).
Mating usually happens during the rainy season in the Amazon rainforest. This is from late March to early December. Male turtles follow females and climb onto their backs. They then rub their chin whiskers against the female's head. Sometimes, males might even squirt water from their noses or bite the females.
Females lay their eggs during the dry season, from late December to early March. They lay one large, oval egg, about 5 centimeters (2 inches) long and 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) wide. Some experts say females lay another egg a few weeks later. The female makes a shallow dip to lay the egg. Then, she lightly covers it with sand or leaves.
Conservation Status
People rarely hunt the twist-necked turtle for food because it is small. When kept as pets, these turtles can easily get fungal infections. They are not considered easy pets for beginners. Most turtles seen in captivity were taken from the wild.
France has listed this species as protected in French Guiana. This means it is against the law to catch or trade any of these turtles there. The IUCN Red List does not currently list this species as endangered. Scientists are not worried about this turtle because it is small and lives in a very large area.
See also
In Spanish: Charapita de aguajal para niños
