Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Photographs on this page were taken by Harald Artner and are used with their permission.
PANTANAL SWAMP TURTLE Acanthochelys macrocephala
This rarely observed turtle was only described in 1992 and is confined to the River Paraguay watershed in western Brazil, southern Bolivia and the Paraguayan Chaco. They are found in shallow pools, often clogged with water weeds. These pools tend to dry out during the dry season forcing the turtles to burrow into soft mud and wait for the rains to come again to wake them from their slumber.
Click on the images to enlarge them.
FIGURE 1 - (FPREP1PH) Head detail of adult female, Central Chaco (Harald Artner February 2004).
FIGURE 2 - (FPREP2PH) Dorsal view of same individual (Harald Artner February 2004).
FIGURE 3 - (FPREP3PH) Ventral view of same individual (Harald Artner February 2004).
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