There is a species of tortoise with a serration around the carapace and slightly upwardly pointed spines. Do you know what kind of turtle it is? Hahaha~ That is - the thorn mountain turtle. Today, I am going to share some information about it for you. If you are interested, please come and have a look~

I. Basic information

【Chinese name】Spine turtle

【Latin name】Heosemys spinosa, Southeast Asian Spiny Turtle, Cogwheel Turtle

【English name】Spiny turtle

【Another name】Southeast Asian spiny turtle, sun turtle, gear turtle, spiny mountain turtle, sun turtle, spider Giant tortoise

【phylum】chordate phylum

【subphylum】chordate subphylum

【class】reptiles

【 Order] Turtles

[Suborder] Suborder Turtles

[Family] Freshwater Turtles

[Subfamily] Freshwater Turtles

[Genus] Oriental Tortoise

[Species] Spiny Mountain Tortoise

II. Appearance Characteristics

The weight of the spiny mountain turtle is generally about 1.5-2kg, and the length of the carapace is about 17.5-22cm. The carapace is flat and reddish-brown, tawny or brown in color; there is a light brown ridge in the center of the back.

The plastron is yellow, and each scutellum has brown radial stripes; the head and limbs have red spots; the forelimbs have 5 claws and the hind limbs have 4 claws; the tail is short.

PS: The spines around the carapace of the spiny mountain turtle will become rounded and blunt with age.

III. Main distribution

The thorn turtle is mainly distributed in southern Myanmar, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and some islands in Indonesia.

4. Habits

1. Habitat

The thorn turtle generally lives in forest streams at an altitude of 170-100 meters , they often hide under dead branches, fallen leaves, and grass, while hatchlings tend to live on land.

2. Eating habits

Although the spiny mountain turtle is an omnivorous animal, it mainly eats some vegetarian food, such as high-fiber plant fruits, leaves and stems, and occasionally eats some earthworms or slugs .

3. Breeding method

The breeding method of the sea turtle is oviparous, and the breeding time is from December to February of the following year. Female turtles can lay eggs 2-3 times a year, 1-2 eggs each time, and the incubation time of eggs is 100-110 days.

V. Male and female discrimination

1. Body size: Compared with the same age, female turtles are generally larger than male turtles.

2. Tail: The tail of the female turtle is short and thin, while the tail of the male turtle is longer and thicker.

3. The degree of depression in the center of the plastron: the center of the plastron of the female turtle is relatively flat, and the center of the plastron of the male turtle is more concave.

4. Degree of development of plastron butterfly twist: female turtle plastron butterfly twist is more developed, male turtle plastron butterfly twist is less developed.

VI. Protection level

The thorn turtle has been recorded in 2 protection lists, which are:

1. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is endangered.

2. The Washington Convention (Appendix II to CITES).

Well, the above is all the introduction to the thorn mountain turtle! After reading the article, you must have a simple understanding of them. If you want to know more about other turtles, please continue to pay attention to this site~