Arrau Turtle

Podocnemis expansa. Manaus, Brazil. Mounted specimen, circa 1843.

As a mounted specimen, this Arrau turtle is an example of early taxidermy. Furthermore, such large specimens are rarely found today.

PLENTIFUL OFFSPRING
Arrau turtles live in the wetland areas of South America and are amongst the largest freshwater turtles in the world. They can live 40 to 50 years and weigh up to 45 kilograms; the males are significantly smaller than the females. Their preferred food is aquatic plants and fruit that has fallen into the water. This Arrau turtle was caught in 1832 on the banks of the Rio Solimões, during the Austrian expedition to Brazil. At that time, the species was still widespread in South America, but even in those days females with a shell 83 centimeters long were rare.
Like sea turtles, Arrau turtles have developed a special strategy to secure the continued existence of their species: all the females living along a section of the river lay their eggs – up to 170 each! – at almost the same time in holes in a sandy riverbank. This is why only some of the young turtles, which hatch en masse about 60 days later, fall victim to natural enemies.
However, this tactic was of little use against humans in the industrial era. The hordes of females that hurried to the nesting beaches, ready to lay their eggs, in some cases obstructing boat traffic, proved to be easy prey. Not only was their body fat prized for frying oil and lamp oil, oil was also extracted from the eggs. Until the 1950s several tens of thousands of turtles and up to 200 million eggs landed up on the market!
The heavily decimated populations are now classified as endangered; the species is strictly protected. Breeding programs and projects to protect nesting sites should help ensure the survival of the Arrau turtle.