Carettochelys Insculpta (Fly River Turtle)

The fly river or pig-nosed turtle is the sole surviving member of its entire family, Carettochelyidae, and sits alone on a branch of the tree of life reaching back around 140 million years. That is more than 70 million years before the extinction of the dinosaurs!

This unique fresh water turtle has many unusual morphological, ecological and behavioural characteristics. Unlike any other freshwater turtles, the pig-nosed turtle has flip4pers, resembling those of a sea turtle more than a freshwater species. This strange and unique turtle has a leathery shell, rather than a shell formed of hard, distinct scutes and has a long, fleshy snout with large nostrils, much like that of a pig, hence the common name of the species.