The Big-headed Amazon River turtle (Peltocephalus dumerilianus),[5] also known as the big-headed sideneck, is a
species of
turtle in the
familyPodocnemididae. An additional, much larger species is known, the extinct Peltocephalus maturin, is also part of the genus, Peltocephalus.[4][6]
P. dumerilianus are mid-sized turtles, with the largest specimen recorded possessing a 50 cm (1.6 ft) long carapace and weighing 15 kg (33 lb).
Sexual dimorphism is present like in most turtles, with males being larger with wider heads.
The preferred natural
habitats of P. dumerilianus are rivers and freshwater swamps, preferring
igapó and other
blackwater river systems.[5][8]
Diet
Like all extant
podocnemidids, P. dumerilianus is a plant-based omnivore, though includes the largest proportion of animal matter in its diet among its family. [9] It is an opportunistic predator, usually crawling around the bottom of water bodies searching for mollusks, fish, insects, and even scavenged carrion from other reptiles and mammals.[10]
Reproduction
Like all other turtles, P. dumerilianus is
oviparous.[5] Unlike other members of its group which lay their eggs on sandy beaches, the Big-headed Amazon River turtle prefers concealed nests.
^Beolens, Bo;
Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp.
ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5. (Peltocephalus dumeriliana, p. 77).
^Eisemberg, C. C.; Reynolds, S. J.; Christian, K. A.; Vogt, R. C. (2017). "Diet of Amazon river turtles (Podocnemididae): a review of the effects of body size, phylogeny, season and habitat". Zoology. 120: 92–100.
doi:
10.1016/j.zool.2016.07.003.
PMID27552858.
Boulenger GA (1889). Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhynchocephalians, and Crocodiles in the British Museum (Natural History). New Edition. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). x + 311 pp. + Plates I-III. (Podocnemis tracaxa, p. 206).
Schweigger [AF] (1812). "Prodromus Monographia Cheloniorum ". Königsberger Archiv für Naturwissenschaft und Mathematik1: 271-368, 406–458. (Emys dumeriliana, new species, p. 300). (in
Latin).