Carettochelys insculpta

Food Habits:

Carettochelys is omnivorous, but tending more toward herbivory than toward omnivory (Groombridge, 1982). In the Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea, it principally feeds on the unripe fruits of the mangrove species Sonneratia spp. possibly by cropping the fruits from the vegetation at high tide (Rose, unpublished data). Fruits from Xylocarpus sp., Nypa fructicous, Canorium indicum, Antrocarpus incisor, the wild pit pit Sachhorum robistum are also eaten. Animal foods included the molluscs Batissa violocea, Nerita sp and Centhidea sp, and the crustacean Siyellu serrata. In Australia, Carettochelys feeds on the leaves, fruits and flowers of riparian vegetation, especially the Fig Ficus racemosa, the bush apple Syzygium forte, and Pandanus aquaticus (Schodde et al., 1972; Legler, 1982; Georges and Kennett, 1989). Other foods include aquatic insect larvae, crustacea, mollusca, fishes and mammals possibly eaten as carrion, and aquatic plants such as algae, Vallisneria sp. and Najas tenuifolia (Cogger, 1970; Schodde et al., 1972; Legler, 1982; Georges et al., 1989; Georges and Kennett, 1989). The wide range of foods eaten provides great scope for opportunism, and the diet varies greatly with the foods available from locality to locality." (Georges A. and Rose M., 1993)

Statuts:

Carettochelys insculpta is a very shy and elusive species. It was only recently discovered in Australia, and there is not much known about the population in Papua New Guinea.

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