Pig Nosed Turtle

The pig-nosed turtle is scientifically called Carettochelys insculpta. It belongs to the family Carettochelyidae, and as mentioned above, it is the last surviving member of its family. The order they belong to is testudines,’ and their current population is unknown. They are native to New Guinea and Australia, and they are distributed across the southern and northern regions respectively.

Their unique shape comes due to their pig-like nose, which is used as a snorkel for finding food and breathing underwater. They are called fly-river turtles as well due to the river in Papua New Guinea where they are commonly found. Because of their nose, pig-nosed turtles have a very sharp sense of smell. Due to their flippers, they resemble sea turtles instead of freshwater turtles. They grow as large as 28 inches and weigh as much as 20 kilograms. Their average life span is 30 years.

Pig-nosed turtles are essentially omnivores, but they prefer eating vegetation to carnivorous meals. One of their favorite things to munch on are figs and their leaves. They eat molluscs and other insects as well. Due to their herbivorous tendency, they eat all sorts of fruits and leaves that grow around riverbanks. They eat worms and small fish as well, which they track using their nose as a snorkel.

As mentioned above, the nose-pig turtles are mostly found in Papua New Guinea and Northern Australia. They are aquatic creatures that only leave the water to lay eggs during breeding season. They are found in fresh-water bodies despite their sea turtle like flippers. Rivers, lakes, and streams are their natural habitat because the water is fresh, and they can find plenty of small fish and insects to eat. They have also been known to hide in marshes and swamps. Because of their aquatic nature, they go as deep as 20 feet underwater in search of prey and shelter. Apart from Australia and New Guinea, some pig-nosed turtles have also been sighted in Indonesia.