The painted terrapin, painted batagur, or saw-jawed turtle (''Batagur borneoensis'') is a species of

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...

s in the family

Geoemydidae The Geoemydidae (formerly known as Bataguridae) are one of the largest and most diverse families in the order Testudines (turtles), with about 70 species. The family includes the Eurasian pond and river turtles and Neotropical wood turtles. Memb ...

. It was formerly in its own genus, ''Callagur'', but has been reclassified to the genus, '' Batagur''.

Distribution

It is distributed in the

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest, ...

of Brunei,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. In ...

(

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent is ...

and

Kalimantan Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo. In 2019, ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malays ...

, and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Status

The painted terrapin is critically endangered species according to

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

, listed in ''The World's Most 25 Endangered Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises 2011''. It is listed in Appendix II, with a zero quota for commercial trade of wild-captured specimens according to the

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

meeting in Thailand, March 2013. ''Batagur borneoensis'' is a priority species to be conserved in Indonesia according to Minister of Forestry Decree No. 57 Year 2008 about Strategic Direction of National Species Conservation 2008–18. In Malaysia, this species is protected by the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

Threats

Harvesting by fishermen to eat, poaching to meet pet and food demand, habitat loss due to land conversion to palm oil, and fish and shrimp farming are major threats.

Conservation

Conservation efforts in Sumatra, Indonesia, are ongoing to increase wild populations by carrying out nesting patrols to secure and hatch the eggs, for later release into original habitats. In

, the painted terrapin is protected through the WWF's hawksbill turtle and painted terrapin conservation project. The project aims establish the protection and effective management of critical nesting habitats of painted terrapins and their key habitats, through measures that are scientifically based and socially acceptable, and that can be sustained in the long term by government, the local community and other stakeholders.

References

External links

Photos of ''Callagur borneoensis'' at Empire of the Turtle

Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises Initiative in Sumatra
photos, education, field research, captive breeding {{Taxonbar, from=Q1827817 Batagur Reptiles of Indonesia Reptiles described in 1844 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot