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Name : Cantor ’s giant softshell turtle ( Pelochelys cantorii )
Where it lives : Rivers in South and Southeast Asia
Cantor’s giant softshell turtle spend the vast majority of their time buried under mud or sand in shallow rivers.
What it eats : Fish , crustacean , mollusks , frogs , insects , birds , small mammals
Why it ’s awesome : Cantor ’s giant softshell turtleneck — name in honor of Danish zoologist Theodore Edward Cantor — spend 95 % of their lives whole motionless , sink under mud or sand in shallow river with only their eye and snorkel - same snouts protruding out . But when these unusual - looking reptile make out something to eat , they can move at lightning - quick speed .
When they fleck Pisces , frogs or crustaceans , they speedily offer their necks to strike their fair game . They have long claw and herculean jaws that are strong enough to crush bone .
Unlike their hard - blast cousins , theseturtleshave leathery , flat , green or brown cuticle . These large , fresh water turtles are also known as " frog - faced softshells " because of their amphibian - like facial features . They can develop up to 40 inches ( 100 centimeters)long — although somesourcessuggest they can grow even larger — and matter more than100 kilograms .
Like other soft - shell turtleneck species , they are think to have the ability toextract oxygenfrom the pee through their skin , which aid them persist underwater for recollective period of time . However , they can only get so much oxygen this way , so they come up to the open to respire atmosphere twice a day .
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These endangered turtle are extremelyrare : Between 1985 and 1995 , only a individual specimen was ground . They are native toriversin India , Bangladesh , Burma , Thailand , Malaysia , Laos , Cambodia , Vietnam , China , the Philippines and Indonesia .
In 2024 , the firstnesting site of a Cantorwas come across by life scientist on the banks of the Chandragiri River in Kerala , India . The researchers used knowledge from local communities to place the turtleneck .
