Far Eastern turtle. Far Eastern country. Features of living in nature

Trionyx sinensis Wiegmann, 1834

Description: The shell, covered with soft skin, reaches a length of 250 mm. The muzzle is extended into a proboscis. The fingers are equipped with well-developed swimming membranes. In young individuals, the carapace is rounded with numerous longitudinal rows of small tubercles, which, as the animal grows, merge into ridges and gradually disappear completely. The upper side of the shell is greenish-gray or greenish-brown with more or less distinct yellow spots.

Spreading: Widely inhabits the Eastern regions. and South-East. Asia from Primorye to the north. to the central regions of Vietnam in the south. Found on the Japanese islands. Introduced to Hawaii. In the relatively recent past, it was widespread in the south. Primorye and Amur region, in the north. almost reaching the mouth of the Amur, and in the north-west. mouth of the river Sungari. Currently, the distribution of the species is confined to two main districts - Priamursky (basin of Lake Gassi in the Khabarovsk Territory) and Khankaysky (basin of Lake Khanka in the Primorsky Territory). Bass is also found in a few reservoirs. Amur to the lower reaches of the river. Bira in the west and Komsomolsk-on-Amur to the north. .

Habitat: Closely associated with water, inhabiting rivers, lakes and oxbow lakes. It likes to bask on coastal shallows, quickly hiding in the water when in danger. It feeds on fish, amphibians, insects, mollusks and worms. It overwinters at the bottom of reservoirs, buried in silt, from late September to early April. Egg laying from June to August. During this period, 2-3 clutches occur, containing 20-70 eggs, which the female buries in well-warmed soil near water. The diameter of the round white eggs is about 20 mm, weight up to 5 g. The incubation period is 45-60 days. Sexual maturity occurs at 6-7 years of age.

Number:

Security: Protected in the Bolshekhehtsirsky, Khankaysky and, possibly, Khingansky nature reserves. There is positive experience in breeding turtles on special farms, which needs to be renewed.

The Chinese trionix (lat. Pelodiscus sinensis) or the Far Eastern aquatic turtle belongs to the three-clawed family and is one of the most famous soft-bodied turtles.

This not only means they are more gentle and prone to injury, but also that they get scared when handled. Trionics begins to scratch and bite. In addition, mature individuals can grow quite large.

Trionics are bred in Asia in large quantities, but for more practical purposes, as food. True, from there they partially end up in the trade in exotic animals.

Soft-shelled turtles are far from the easiest to keep and often do not forgive mistakes that hard-shelled turtles easily forgive. True, having lost in defense, they have gained significantly in speed and are excellent swimmers.

• unusual appearance

• Spends almost all of his time in the water and is an excellent swimmer

• nervous

• doesn't like being picked up, bites painfully

• cannot be kept with other turtles, fish, etc.

• prone to injury due to softness

Like all turtles, the Far Eastern freshwater turtle is clumsy from time to time and can easily injure itself if there are sharp corners in the aquarium. And an open wound is a direct path to infections, so there should not be anything in the aquarium with them that can cause harm.

Another problem that softness gives rise to is the timidity of Trionics. They are extremely timid and rarely come ashore to bask. And when you take her in your hands, she begins to violently resist, bite and scratch.

In fact, it is impossible to hold Trionix in your hands without protective gloves.

Moreover, their neck is almost as long as their body, and when you hold it from the side, it can easily reach out and bite you.

And if the bite of a baby can be unpleasant, then an adult turtle can seriously injure you, even teenagers bite until they bleed. The bony plates in the mouth are very sharp and in nature serve to bite snails, so it is not a problem for it to bite through the skin.

Habitat in nature

Widely distributed in Asia: China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and the island of Taiwan. They also live on the territory of Russia, in the southern part of the Far East, in the basin of the Amur and Ussuri rivers.
Soft-bodied turtles are excellent swimmers and rarely go ashore.

But, in captivity, it is better for them to have the opportunity to warm up, as this helps maintain health and prevents the development of fungal infections, to which river turtles are prone.

One of the unusual features of the Far Eastern turtle is that they use sand for camouflage. The turtle buries itself in the sandy bottom of a lake or river when in danger. Young turtles do this instantly.

You can add a few centimeters of sand to your aquarium, but avoid abrasives such as pebbles. They also bury themselves for hunting, exposing only their heads and lying in wait for prey.

Description

A medium-sized turtle, with a carapace length up to 25 cm, although some can be up to 40 cm. The leathery carapace is relatively smooth and oval in shape. The color is usually gray-brown, but can also be yellowish. And the plastron is usually yellowish or pinkish.

The head is medium in size with a long elongated proboscis, the end of which resembles a snout. The head and paws are brown or olive. The skin is quite thin and the bone structure is weak. However, the Chinese Trionix has thick lips and powerful jaws with horny edges.

Feeding

Omnivores, in nature they eat mainly insects, fish, larvae, amphibians, and snails. At home, Chinese Trionix eats food high in protein: bloodworms, fish, snails, worms, fish fillets, artificial food, mussel and shrimp meat.

The basis for feeding Trionics can be made of high-quality food for aquatic turtles, especially since they contain a variety of additives and minerals. Very voracious, it is advisable not to overfeed.

Plants in an aquarium with Chinese Trionics will not last long. They don't eat them, but seem to take pleasure in simply destroying them.

There was a mouse and there was no:

Quite large, Chinese Trionics are also one of the most aquatic of all aquatic turtles. It sounds strange, but the fact is that they spend most of their lives in water and are excellent swimmers. They can linger under water for a very long time (pharyngeal breathing helps them with this), and to inhale they stretch out their long neck with a proboscis, remaining almost invisible.

So you need a spacious aquarium with plenty of space for swimming. The larger the volume, the better, but for an adult at least 200-250 liters.

Softshell turtles are territorial and should be kept alone. One bite from an aggressive neighbor and your turtle suffers internal injuries, so it's not worth it.

The water temperature for maintenance is 24-29°C; in cold weather it is necessary to heat it. You also need a filter, preferably an external one, and mandatory regular water changes with fresh and settled water. You need a powerful filter, designed for a volume twice as large as the volume of your aquarium. Trionix is ​​very voracious and the water quickly becomes polluted.

Land or shore are necessary, you can create them yourself or buy a ready-made product. The main thing is that the turtle can get out of the water onto land and dry out. This prevents the development of respiratory and fungal diseases.

A heating lamp and a UV lamp are installed above the shore. A regular lamp is suitable for heating, and UV helps the turtle absorb calcium and vitamins. In nature, this work is done by the sun, but in an aquarium there are few UV rays.

Soft-bodied turtles, in principle, can live without it, the main thing is to feed it with food with vitamin D3 and keep it warm, but it will not be superfluous.

Moreover, while a lamp can cause burns to turtles with a hard carapace, here it is generally fatal. Position the lamp so that it does not burn the animal. The temperature on land should be up to 32°C. It is important that it be warmer on the shore than in the water, otherwise the turtle will not warm itself.

Compatibility

It is not there, on the one hand they are aggressive, on the other hand they themselves can suffer from the slightest injury. The Chinese Trionix needs to be kept alone.

Reproduction

They become sexually mature between 4 and 6 years of age.. They mate both on the surface and under water, with the male holding the female by the carapace and can bite her on the neck and paws. The female can store the male's sperm for up to a year after mating.

Lays from 8-30 eggs and can make up to 5 clutches during the year. To do this, she digs a nest up to a meter in diameter in which the eggs are incubated for 60 days.
At the moment, the Far Eastern leatherback turtle is imported mainly from Asia, where it is actively farmed for food.

The Far Eastern turtle, also known as the Chinese trionix (Pelodiscus sinensis), belongs to the category of freshwater turtles and is a member of the Three-clawed turtle family. The reptile is widespread throughout Asia and is the most famous soft-bodied turtle. In some Asian countries, this animal is used as food and is also a fairly popular object of industrial breeding.

Description of the Far Eastern turtle

The most famous soft-shelled turtle to date has 8 pairs of bony costal plates in the carapace. The carapace bones are distinguished by small dotted and clearly visible pitted sculpture. The presence of seven callus-like thickenings in the plastron is also noted, which are located on the hypo- and hyoplastrons, xiphiplastrons, and sometimes on the epiplastrons.

Appearance

The length of the carapace of the Far Eastern turtle, as a rule, does not exceed a quarter of a meter, but sometimes there are specimens with a shell length of up to 35-40 cm. The maximum weight of an adult turtle reaches 4.4-4.5 kg. The shell is covered with soft skin without horny scutes. The carapace is round in shape, resembling a frying pan in appearance, and has fairly soft edges, which helps the turtle burrow into the mud. In young individuals the carapace is almost round, while in adults it becomes more elongated and flatter. Young turtles have longitudinal rows of peculiar tubercles on the carapace, which merge into so-called ridges as they grow older, but in adult individuals such growths disappear.

The upper side of the shell is characterized by a greenish-gray or greenish-brown color, on which there are relatively distinct small yellow spots. The plastron is light yellow or pinkish-white. Young Trionics are distinguished by their bright orange color, which often contains dark spots. The head, neck area and limbs are also greenish-gray or greenish-brown in color. There are small dark and light spots on the head, and a dark and narrow line stretches from the eye area towards the back.

This is interesting! Recently, near the city of Tainan, a turtle with a live weight of just over 11 kg and a shell length of 46 cm was caught, which had chosen a fish farm pond.

There are five toes on the tortoise's feet, and three of them end in fairly sharp claws. The reptile is characterized by fingers equipped with very well developed and noticeable swimming membranes. The Far Eastern tortoise has a long neck, very strong jaws with a sharp cutting edge. The horny edges of turtle jaws cover thick and leathery outgrowths - the so-called “lips”. The end of the muzzle extends into a soft and long proboscis, at the end of which the nostrils are located.

Lifestyle, behavior

Far Eastern tortoises, or Chinese Trionics, inhabit a wide variety of biotopes, ranging from the northern taiga zone to subtropics and tropical forests in the southern part of their range. In mountainous areas, the reptile is capable of rising to a height of 1.6-1.7 thousand meters above sea level. The Far Eastern turtle is an inhabitant of fresh water bodies, including large and small rivers and lakes, oxbow lakes, and is also found in rice fields. The animal gives preference to well-warmed reservoirs with a sandy or muddy bottom, with the presence of sparse aquatic vegetation and gently sloping banks.

Chinese Trionics avoid rivers with very strong currents. The reptile is most active at dusk and at night. In good weather during the day, such representatives of the Three-clawed turtle family often bask on the shoreline for a long time, but do not move more than a couple of meters from the water’s edge. On too hot days they bury themselves in wet sand or quickly go into the water. At the first sign of danger, the reptile almost instantly hides in the water, where it buries itself in the bottom silt.

Far Eastern turtles spend a significant part of their time in the water. These reptiles swim and dive very well and are able to remain relatively deep underwater for a long time. Trionics obtain some of their oxygen directly from water through so-called pharyngeal breathing. Inside the turtle's pharynx there are papillae, which are represented by bundles of villous mucous outgrowths, penetrated by a large number of capillaries. In these areas, oxygen is absorbed from the water.

While underwater, the turtle opens its mouth, which allows water to wash over the villi inside the throat. Papillae are also used to secrete urea. If there is high-quality water in the reservoir, diving reptiles open their mouths quite rarely. The Far Eastern turtle can stretch its long neck far, due to which air is taken in through the nostrils on a long and soft proboscis. This feature helps the animal remain virtually invisible to predators. On land, the turtle moves quite well, and young Trionix individuals move especially quickly.

During dry periods, small reservoirs inhabited by turtles become very shallow, and water pollution also occurs. However, the reptile does not leave its usual habitat. Caught Trionics behave extremely aggressively and try to inflict very painful bites. The largest individuals often inflict quite serious wounds with the sharp horny edges of their jaws. Far Eastern turtles winter at the bottom of the reservoir, they can hide in reed thickets near the shore or burrow into the bottom silt. The wintering period lasts from mid-September to May or June.

How long does Trionix live?

The lifespan of the Chinese Trionix in captivity is approximately a quarter of a century. In nature, such reptiles most often live no more than two decades.

Sexual dimorphism

It is possible to independently determine the gender of a land turtle with very high accuracy in individuals that are at the sexually mature age of two years. Sexual dimorphism is manifested by some external characteristics. For example, males have stronger, thicker and longer claws compared to females.

In addition, the male has a concave plastron and has prominent skin growths on the thighs called “femoral spurs.” When examining the back of the Far Eastern turtle, some differences can be observed. In males, the shell completely covers its tail, while in females the tail part is clearly visible from under the shell. Also, the adult female has a completely flat or slightly convex abdomen.

Types of Chinese Trionix

Previously, Chinese Trionyx belonged to the genus Trionyx, and within the species there were only a couple of subspecies:

• Tr. sinensis sinensis is a nominative subspecies that has spread over a significant part of its range;
• Tr. sinensis tuberculatus is a restricted subspecies found in Central China and the South China Sea.

To date, subspecies of the Far Eastern tortoise are not distinguished. Certain populations of such reptiles from China have been identified by some researchers and classified as completely independent species:

• Pelodiscus axenaria;
• Pelodiscus parviformis.

From a taxonomic point of view, the status of such forms is not entirely clear. For example, Pelodiscus axenaria may be a juvenile specimen of P. sinensis. Turtles found in Russia, northeastern China, and Korea are sometimes considered distinct forms of P. maackii.

Range, habitats

Chinese Trionics are widespread throughout Asia, including Eastern China, Vietnam and Korea, Japan, as well as the islands of Hainan and Taiwan. Within our country, most representatives of the species are found in the southern part of the Far East.

This is interesting! To date, representatives of the genus Far Eastern turtles have been introduced into the territory of Southern Japan, the islands of Ogasawara and Timor, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, the Hawaiian and Mariana Islands.

Such turtles inhabit the waters of the Amur and Ussuri river basins, as well as their largest tributaries and Lake Khanka.

Diet of the Far Eastern turtle

The Far Eastern tortoise is a predator. This reptile feeds on fish, as well as amphibians and crustaceans, some insects, worms and mollusks. Representatives of the family Three-clawed turtles and the genus Far Eastern turtles lie in wait for their prey, burying themselves in sand or silt. To grab approaching prey, Chinese Trionics use a very fast movement of their elongated head.

The maximum feeding activity of the reptile can be observed at dusk, as well as at nightfall. It is at this time that turtles are not in their ambush, but they can hunt quite actively, intensively and carefully examining the territory of their entire hunting area.

This is interesting! As numerous observations show, regardless of their age, Trionics are incredibly voracious. For example, in captivity, a turtle with a shell length of 18-20 cm can easily eat three or four fish 10-12 cm long at a time.

Also, adult animals are very actively looking for food directly at the bottom of the reservoir. The fish caught by the reptile are often very large in size, and the trionics tries to swallow such prey, initially biting off its head.

Many sources claim that the Far Eastern tortoise is a Chinese trionix. And under this name this amphibian is widely known throughout the world, although the main places of distribution of the turtle are the countries of Asia and the Russian Far East. However, there is an opinion that it is more correct to call it the Chinese soft-shelled turtle.

What is our heroine like? Let's start with the fact that she is a representative of the family of three-clawed turtles, for the reason that three of the five fingers on the limbs of Trionix are crowned with sharp claws. The turtle shell usually reaches a length of 20-25 cm, sometimes up to 40 cm, and trionix weighs up to 5 kg. These are, so to speak, standard parameters for her. But there are exceptions, as everywhere else. So, near the island of Taiwan, a turtle weighing 11 kg and with a 46 cm shell was caught. This made pundits think that, probably, such dimensions are not the limit of the modest capabilities of the Chinese soft-bodied fish.

An interesting feature of this turtle is its excessive aggressiveness. Mother Nature has endowed it with very strong and powerful jaws, capable of inflicting a rather painful bite on a gaping person. And it is no coincidence that the image of this particular turtle adorned the hilts of samurai swords - katanas, thanks to its combativeness. By the way, the Japanese are very respectful of trionics, and there are even temples where the turtle is considered a sacred animal. Which, however, does not prevent neighboring China from eating it. preparing the famous turtle soup from Trionix meat, known for its healing properties.

The Far Eastern turtle loves water. This is her home and hunting ground. Trionix is ​​an excellent swimmer and can quickly bury itself in mud in case of danger. The diet of this predator turtle consists of fish, crustaceans, worms, and insects. She hunts, again, by hiding in the mud and sticking out her long proboscis with nostrils, located at the end of her muzzle. Thus, trionics can breathe, so as not to attract undue attention from its enemies such as foxes, badgers, raccoon dogs and large-billed crows.

Trionics prefers only fresh water, but is not friendly with rivers where there is a strong current. During the day, a turtle may not deny itself the pleasure of basking on the shore, but it is always close to the saving water.
It would seem that the populations of the Far Eastern turtle are quite large, however, in Russia it is listed in the Red Book due to extensive fishing. Even the fertility of females, which can produce from 18 to 75 eggs in one clutch, does not save the matter. In China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan the situation is better. Maybe we should start taking active measures to preserve this amazing turtle?

Who are you, miracle? Sometimes you see a picture and it seems like you’ve been living in the world for many years, but still, you have no idea what kind of animal it is! How diverse our nature is! Did you guess the animal? No? Let's go to the cut and I'll tell you.

The suborder of soft-bodied turtles (Trionychoidea) belongs to the family of Three-clawed turtles (Trionychidae), which includes 22 species, grouped into 7 genera. They are widespread in East and South Asia. North America and Africa. These turtles are characterized by interesting anatomical and morphological features. There is no horny cover on the shell: it is covered with soft, wrinkled skin, sometimes bearing horny bumps. The bony carapace is greatly reduced. The carapace has a relatively small bony plate surrounded by a wide cartilaginous ring. The plastron is also largely composed of cartilage.

The most famous and widespread type of trionics is Chinese Trionix (Trionix chinesis). This is the only soft-bodied turtle found in our country. We usually call it simply Far Eastern or soft shell turtle.

The end of the muzzle is extended into a soft, movable proboscis, at the very end of which the nostrils open. The head and neck are completely retracted into the shell, and the neck bends in a vertical plane. Some types, for example Chinese trionix. capable of pulling the anterior part of the plastron towards the carapace. almost blocking the front opening of the shell. The legs have highly developed swimming membranes, three fingers on each of them are armed with long sharp claws, for which the family got its name. The tail is very short.

These features are explained by the lifestyle of soft-bodied turtles. They live in fresh water bodies, rarely leave the water, never moving far from the shore. They breathe. sticking out only the tip of the proboscis to the surface. Moreover, the inner surface of the pharynx is covered with villi with many capillaries, which allows the absorption of oxygen directly from the water. Therefore, soft-bodied turtles can stay at the bottom for a long time without rising to the surface for air. All this fully characterizes the hero of our story - the Chinese Trionix. the only representative of soft-bodied turtles living in Russia. Distributed in Primorye (the basin of Lake Khanka) and the Amur region (basins of rivers and lakes of the middle reaches of the Amur to the Vira River in the west and almost to Komsomolsk-on-Amur (Lake Hummi) in the north). The northern part of the range of this species is located in Russia. To the south it is common in rivers and lakes of Eastern China and Japan. Koren Islands, Taiwan, Hainan. Prefers reservoirs with muddy or sandy bottoms, weak underwater vegetation and gently sloping banks.

In our country, Chinese trionics is found in the Far East south of Komsomolsk-on-Amur and west to the mouth of the Sungari River. This turtle has become rare everywhere and is included in the Red Book of the USSR. Outside our country, trionics is common in Eastern China, Korea, Japan, as well as on the islands of Hainan, Taiwan and even Hawaii. Apparently, turtles were brought to islands far from the mainland by sailors who took them with them as food.

Chinese Trionyx inhabits large and small rivers and lakes in places with muddy or sandy bottoms, sparse underwater vegetation and gently sloping banks where they can climb out for sunbathing. The turtle spends most of its time in the water, here it swims and dives excellently, but on land its movements in danger are also fast and dexterous, so it is very difficult to take it by surprise on the shore. At the slightest alarm, the turtle rushes into the water with lightning speed and dives to the bottom, where it buries itself in the mud. Bottom silt or sand serves the Trionix as both a saving refuge and a convenient ambush during the hunt. With one head exposed, the turtle patiently waits for a fish or other small animal to swim by. With an instant throw of her head she grabs her prey, and it is impossible to escape from her iron jaws.

The turtle's diet consists of fish, shellfish, aquatic crustaceans, insects and worms. In search of fish, trionics often visit fishing spots and examine the nets, which naturally arouses the hatred of the fishermen. Trionics hunt at night, when the animals do not sit in ambush, but intensively search their hunting area.

Turtles overwinter at the bottom of reservoirs, burrowing deep into the mud. In April - May they resume active life and soon begin to reproduce. From late May to August, females lay eggs, and each individual does this 2–3 times during the season. Having found a well-warmed place on a sandy shore near the water, the turtle digs a round hole 15 - 20 cm deep with its hind legs. The female places 20 to 70 round white eggs with a diameter of 2 cm in it. After one and a half to two months, tiny turtles hatch from the eggs with bright colors. - orange coloration of the abdomen. In both China and Japan, trionics are caught and eaten, and their meat is highly valued. They are most often caught with a fishing rod or spear.

Turtle traders have large pools built in their yards in which the captured turtles are kept. Trionics eggs are also edible. In some Japanese temples, Trionics are kept in ponds as sacred animals, just as the temple, Indochinese and jointed turtles in Southeast Asia live in the ponds of Buddhist monasteries.

Sometimes other representatives of the genus Trionyx, which has 14 species, are also found on sale. Examples include the ocellated (T.hurum) and the beautiful (T.formosus). Gangetic (T.gangeticus) trionics from South Asia, North American spiny (T.spiniferus). evil (T.ferox), smooth (T.muticus) trionics. These species are quite suitable for keeping in a home terrarium; their biology is not very different from that of the Chinese Trionix. You just have to keep in mind that these are mostly larger species - the maximum length of the shell is 40-70 cm, and also that their price on the market is significantly higher. However, the largest trionix (T. triungulus) lives in Africa (except for the north and south of the continent). The length of its shell reaches 90 cm. Knowing the difficult nature of Trionics. it is easy to assume that interaction with such a turtle poses a serious danger.

Previously, only 1 species was identified in the genus of soft-bodied turtles - the large soft-bodied turtle ( Pelochelys bibroni), but over time it became clear that such a classification was erroneous. Now there are 3 species: large soft-bodied turtle ( Pelochelys bibroni), the Cantori soft-shelled turtle ( Pelochelys cantorii) And Pelochelys signifera.

The most common species of soft-shelled turtles. Like the others, it belongs to the family of three-clawed turtles. Pelochelys bibroni is found in southern Papua New Guinea, as well as southern Irian Jaya in Indonesia.

This is a fairly large turtle. The length of its shell can reach 1 meter and even a little more. The flattened, rounded carapace is olive-gray or brown in color. In some places there are blurry light spots on it. The neck is decorated with several longitudinal stripes.

Juveniles have a slightly rough carapace with small tubercles. In adult turtles, it is almost smooth, covered with soft or slightly rough skin. The plastron (lower part of the shell) is connected to the carapace by elastic ligaments.

The head is short and wide. At the end of the muzzle there is a small proboscis with nostrils. The turtle uses it as a kind of breathing tube, allowing it to lie motionless in shallow water and breathe without swimming entirely to the surface. But this is not the only possible way of breathing in these turtles. They can obtain oxygen in other ways.

Under water, the main respiratory organ of a turtle is the pharynx, covered with filiform papillae and villi, which are equipped with many capillaries. Due to this, oxygen is absorbed from the water. This breathing method allows turtles to remain underwater for up to several hours.

Like all soft-bodied turtles, Pelochelys bibroni is aquatic. Prefers to live in fresh water bodies: rivers, estuaries, swamps with a muddy bottom. But it can also be found in coastal sea waters. It comes ashore only during the breeding season - to lay eggs.

Thanks to well-developed membranes on its powerful paws, it swims very well and easily overcomes fast currents.

Soft-bodied turtle Cantori (lat. Pelochelys cantorii)

This is the largest soft-bodied turtle. The length of its carapace can reach 2 meters! Well, the corresponding weight is about 50 kilograms.

Its carapace is smoother than that of Pelochelys bibroni. There may be small bumps in the neck area. They are absent in young turtles.

This species has a wider distribution area: India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Burma, Vietnam, South China, Indonesia and the Philippines. This is caused by the ability of these turtles to travel long distances in salty sea water or by their introduction to these areas for food.

Pelochelys cantorii, like Pelochelys bibroni, prefers to live in fresh water bodies: slowly flowing rivers or streams. But, despite this, it periodically enters coastal sea waters.

This turtle is ready to spend whole days in the water, coming to the surface for a breath of air only 2-3 times a day. The rest of the time she breathes through her throat.

Ambush predator. It feeds on shrimp, fish, crabs, shellfish and other aquatic life.

In February-March, females come to land to lay eggs. A clutch can contain up to 30 spherical eggs.

Sources:
http: //images.yandex.ru/
http: //www.paludarium.ru
http: //ianimal.ru
http: //www.outside.primorye.ru