CHINA VIEW (Beijing) 08 December 04 Rare turtle found in eastern Indonesia
Jakarata: The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has discovered the red-ear slider (Trachemy scripta elegans) in waters of the Indonesian easternmost province of Papua, a researcher said Wednesday.
WWF researcher John Maturbongs was quoted by The Jakarta Post online news service as saying that the turtle was one of the great Emydidae species, such as the Geomydae, Tryonychidae and Kinosternidae, which live in Latin and South America.
The red-ear slider has a typical belly shield with a relatively high, green back, and its head is mottled with distinct blood-red spots.
Maturbongs said only two species of rare turtles were known to be found in the wild in Indonesia, the Trachemy scripta elegans and the Trachemy terrapen. The two species are brightly colored as hatchlings and adolescents, but become dull in adulthood.
The red-ear slider encountered in a Manokwari river is estimated to be about four years old.
Maturbongs said the rare turtle was indigenous to America, and it was unknown how it came to be in Irian Jaya. "It's the WWF's duty to uncover this mystery," he said.
The turtle's diet consists mainly of fish and shrimp. It lays about a dozen eggs with an incubation period of 58 to 72 days.
Rare turtle found in eastern Indonesia