Snake-Necked Turtle Facts

Video Transcript

"Here I'm holding a Snake Neck Turtle, species Rugosa. This particular species is found in freshwater lakes, ponds and rivers of New Guinea. However, unlike most turtles they can be found in brackish water, it is the only species within their family that can be found in brackish water as well. Their name, snake neck turtle is derived from their ability to coil their neck into their shell like this. Unlike most turtles they have an unusually long neck which can not be withdrawn back into the carapace. Their neck is about seventy-five percent the length of their carapace, which can usually grow to about eleven inches. They're characterized by a dark olive carapace and a light tan plastron. They're also characterized by their very webbed feet as they are very adapt, aquatic swimmers. They reach sexual maturity at about four to five years of age and they're very interesting in the fact that all of their mating and their nesting occurs under water. This is very untypical of turtles who usually do all of their mating and nesting on dry land. They are carnivorous turtles feeding on fish, tadpoles, and sometimes even smaller turtles. They are interesting in the fact that they are ambush predators, where they sit at the bottom of lakes and they cover themselves in silt and they wait for prey to come by. They can do this for long periods of time due to their long neck which they use to come up for air periodically. They also use this long neck to ambush prey as they come by, as they can get them quickly without them even noticing that they're there."