Northern River Terrapin

The northern river terrapin is one of Asia's largest freshwater and brackish-water turtles, reaching a carapace length of up to 60 cm and a weight of 18 kg. The head is rather small, with a pointed, upward-tending snout. The upper shell and soft parts are generally olive-brown and the plastron yellowish. In breeding colour males have a black head and neck with a crimson or orange upper surface and red or orange forelegs (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is strongly aquatic but uses land nesting sites, frequenting tidal estuaries, large rivers and mangrove forests. The species prefers fresh water and moves to brackish river mouths in the breeding season, December–March, returning after laying. Females usually lay three clutches of 10–34 eggs. Individuals have been known to make seasonal migrations of 50 to 60 miles to the sandbanks where they hatched. In India the account gives its range as the Sundarbans.