The Burmese roofed turtle (Batagur trivittata) is one of six turtle species in the genus Batagur of the family Geoemydidae.[1] It is a freshwater turtle that is endemic to the rivers of Myanmar. It was once a common and abundant turtle in its respective habitat. As populations began facing rapid decline, eventually the species was thought to be extinct, until two subpopulations were rediscovered in 2001 in the Chindwin and Dokhtawady rivers. Less than 10 mature individuals were known by 2018. The Burmese roofed turtle is one of the most critically endangered turtle species in the world.[2]
In 2007, an illegally traded individual was seen in Qingping market in Guangzhou, China.[3]
Adult male and female Burmese roofed turtles can be distinguished through their morphology. Adult males exhibit an olive-green carapace; a black stripe down from the top of the head and neck with three black stripes going down the carapace; a more prominently elongated tail; as well as a type of ivory white on the plastron (underbelly). The male's usually green head transforms during the breeding season to a bright chartreuse-yellow with bold black markings. In contrast to this, the female Burmese roofed turtle grows significantly larger than the male.[4] The coloration of the adult females is more similar to each part of its body, ranging from a dark brown to a grayish-black among the head, carapace, and plastron respectively.
B. trivitatta is a herbivorous turtle; it feeds primarily on the aquatic and semi-aquatic vegetation found in their habitats. In captivity, some of the foods that are supplied to B. trivitatta are water spinach, fish food pellets, figs if they are in growing season, and any other supplemental foods if needed.
The adult female age of a Burmese roofed turtle upon its first time reproducing in captivity is estimated to be at a maximum of 14 years old. A wild female is likely to reach sexual maturity somewhere around the age of 20 and up. The average number of eggs laid per clutch is between 20-25 eggs per female.[5] These turtles choose to nest along the sandbanks of meanders that have little to no vegetation or canopy cover, and remain in what is locally coined an Aike, which is also known as a deep pool, for the remainder of the breeding season.[6]
B. trivitatta, because it is an endemic species, it faces many threats to its survival. The current main threats to the Burmese roofed turtles include habitat degradation, predation, excessive egg collection, poaching of mature adults and juveniles for consumption and trade demands, pollution, fishing, as well as climate change through flooding and extreme weather.
The Burmese roofed turtle is nationally protected and listed in CITES Appendix II. The captive population in five zoos comprised about 1,000 individuals as of 2018.Several hundred Burmese roofed turtles are kept in the Yadanabon Zoological Gardens in Mandalay and a turtle conservation center in Lawkananda Park, Bagan. Some have been released to the wild. In the years that followed, researchers found several specimens of the Burmese roofed turtle and took them to captivity.[7] Health screenings of captive Burmese roofed turtles were conducted in 2014 and 2018 to ensure that the spread of pathogens or disease that may be picked up while in captivity does not spread to remaining wild populations if released back into the wild. These health screenings showed no signs of disease or physical illness, and the turtles were exceptionally healthy. [8]
Because B. trivittata is a dispersive species, reintroduction efforts are more difficult since they will start to migrate downstream for miles. Some turtles have been released into the wild without any special assistance, but has shown to be difficult to monitor. Soft release efforts have been implemented to assist B. trivitatta in being acclimated to the sandbank that they are released in so they wouldn't travel long distances, which would make monitoring efforts easier.
There were two sets of 30 genetically diverse individuals of B. trivitatta that were reintroduced into the wild in two separate places along the Chindwin river.[9]