Thai National Parks

Species of Thailand

Burmese flapshell turtle

Lissemys scutata

Bernard Germain de Lacépède, 1788

In Thai: ตะพาบหับ, tapaab hab

The Burmese flapshell turtle (Lissemys scutata), is a species in the family Trionychidae. The species is endemic to Asia.

Taxonomy

Some experts (M.A. Smith, 1931; Mertens, L. Müller & Rust, 1934) considered L. scutata to be a subspecies of L. punctata rather than its own species.

Description

L. scutata has an olive-brown to brown carapace with some dark spotting (in juveniles) or reticulations (in adults), and the first peripheral is smaller than the second. The head is olive to brown with an indistinct dark stripe extending backward from each orbit and another passing backward between the orbits.

Distribution and habitat

L. scutata lives in the Irrawaddy and Salween rivers of Myanmar, the vicinities of Bhamo, Pathein, Chauk, Yangon, Bago, and Mawlamyine in Myanmar, northeastern Thailand, and possibly in Yunnan Province, China (Kuchling, 1995).

Diet

The Burmese flapshell turtle is a piscivore.

Life cycle

L. scutata reproduces sexually. It is oviparous.

Conservation

Although the Burmese flapshell turtle is listed as Data Deficient, some speculate it may be Vulnerable as it is traded in large numbers in East Asian food markets. However, not enough research has been done to come to a conclusion on this species' conservation status.

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Scientific classification

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Reptilia
Order
Testudines
Family
Trionychidae
Genus
Lissemys
Species
Lissemys scutata

Common names

  • German: Hinterindische Klappen-Weichschildkröte
  • English: Burmese flap-shelled turtle
  • Thai: ตะพาบหับ, tapaab hab

Synonyms

  • Lissemys scutata, Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (TTWG) (2014)
  • Lissemys scutata, William Patrick McCord & Mehdi Joseph-Ouni (2003)
  • Lissemys scutata, Gerald Kuchling (1995)
  • Lissemys scutata, David Alderton (1988)
  • Lissemys scutata, R. G. Webb (1982)
  • Trionyx punctatus scutatus, Robert Mertens, Lorenz Müller & Rust (1934)
  • Lissemys punctata scutata, Malcolm Arthur Smith (1931)
  • Emyda granosa scutata, Nelson Annandale (1912)
  • Emyda fuscomaculata, John Edward Gray (1873)
  • Emyda scutata, Wilhelm Karl Hartwich Peters (1868)

Conservation status

Data Deficient (IUCN2.3)

Data Deficient (IUCN2.3)

Photos

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Lissemys scutata

Range Map