white turtle

Dermatemys mawii

Habitat: It lives in rivers, lakes and permanent lagoons with abundant aquatic plants around and in flooded forests in the rainy season.

Food: It feeds on aquatic plants, leaves, flowers, fallen fruits, as well as decomposing plant material and also some insects.

Habits: It is nocturnal and aquatic. It can spend long periods underwater without coming to the surface to breathe. It rarely comes out of the water because its legs are adapted to that environment and it is difficult for it to move on land.

It is interesting that… To nest, the turtles select places close to the water, a condition that does not reduce the possibility of the survival of the young, due to physiological adaptations that allow embryonic development to stop and resume until conditions are favorable