Burmese narrow-headed softshell turtle


The Burmese narrow-headed softshell turtle or Myanmar narrow-headed softshell turtle is a species of turtle in the family Trionychidae. The species is endemic to Southeast Asia.

Etymology

The specific name, vandijki, is in honor of Dutch herpetologist Peter Paul van Dijk.

Description

C. vandijki is one of the largest freshwater turtles in the world, with a carapace size of at least 1 meter.

Distribution and habitat

C. vandijki is found in Myanmar, specifically the Irrawaddy and Chindwin river drainages, and northwestern Thailand. It is possible that they live in the Sittaung River as well.

Ecology and behavior

Barely anything is known about C. vandijki's ecology in the wild, other than that it is fully aquatic.

Conservation

C. vandijki's conservation status has not yet been evaluated by the IUCN, but populations are believed to be declining due to overharvesting for southern Chinese food markets. It is believed that establishing a protected area around parts of the Irrawaddy and Chindwin rivers would help this species, but it has not been done yet. People have also struggled to successfully keep C. vandijki in captivity.
On July 23, 2018, members of the TSA's and WCS's turtle conservation program in Myanmar excavated the nests of female C.vandijki on the banks of the Chindwin River in order to translocate them to a protected hatchery in Linpha Village. The program also incubated eggs from the critically endangered Burmese roofed turtle. 67 individual Burmese narrow-headed softshell turtles from the program hatched on September 30.