Arrau turtle: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Arrau turtle lives – recorded in 5 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Podocnemis expansa
Group	Turtles & tortoises
Status	Conservation dependent (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	5 countries
Continents	South America
Class	Reptile
Order	Testudines
Family	Podocnemididae

Where does the Arrau turtle live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Arrau turtle in 5 countries and territories across South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil, São Geraldo do Araguaia.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the Arrau turtle endangered?

The Arrau turtle’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Conservation dependent” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Arrau turtle?

The Arrau turtle (Podocnemis expansa) is a reptile in the order Testudines and the family Podocnemididae, genus Podocnemis. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Arrau turtle

The Arrau turtle (Podocnemis expansa), also known as the South American river turtle, giant South American turtle, giant Amazon River turtle, Arrau sideneck turtle, Amazon River turtle or simply the Arrau, is the largest of the side-neck turtles (Pleurodira) and the largest freshwater turtle in Latin America. The species primarily feeds on plant material and typically nests in large groups on beaches. Due to hunting of adults, collecting of their eggs, pollution, habitat loss, and dams, the Arrau turtle is seriously threatened.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Arrau turtle (revision 1369610966), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q2625714 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).