Back from the brink, baby Burmese roofed turtles make their debut

Once considered extinct, the Burmese roofed turtle was brought back from the brink by an ambitious conservation program. The captive population is now approaching 1,000 turtles, and the species appears to be in little danger of biological extinction. Scientists have now published descriptions and photos of the hatchlings of this little-known river turtle. Once considered extinct, the Burmese roofed turtle ( Batagur trivittata ) was brought back from the brink by an ambitious conservation program. Now, almost 30 years after its rediscovery in the wild, scientists have finally gotten around to describing the hatchlings of this little-known river turtle. Photos and descriptions of hatchlings and eggs, as well as some background information about the conservation of the species were recently published in the journal Zootaxa by scientists from Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Myanmar, Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), Global Wildlife Conservation, and Georgetown University. A newly hatched Burmese roofed turtle. Note the egg-tooth (caruncle), which is used to cut through the egg when the turtle hatches. It is then lost during the two months after hatching. Photo by Myo Min Win/WCS Myanmar (Platt et al 2020). The newly hatched turtle shows its umbilical scar, where it was attached to a […]

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