About Carettochelys insculpta Ramsay, 1886
The pig-nosed turtle (Carettochelys insculpta Ramsay, 1886) has a unique combination of traits that sets it apart from all other freshwater turtle species. Its feet are flippers, a shape that matches the flippers of marine turtles. Its common name comes from its pig-like nose, which has nostrils located at the end of a fleshy snout. The turtle's carapace is most often grey or olive, with a leathery texture, while its plastron is cream-colored. Males can be told apart from females by their longer, narrower tails. Adult pig-nosed turtles can reach a straight carapace length of around 70 to 75 centimeters (28 to 30 inches), and can weigh over 20 kilograms (44 pounds). Unlike soft-shelled turtles in the family Trionychidae, the pig-nosed turtle keeps a domed bony carapace under its leathery skin, instead of the flat carapace plate that trionychids have. It also has a solid plastron, connected to the carapace by a strong bony bridge, which differs from the soft margin found on trionychid turtles. This species is native to freshwater streams, lagoons, and rivers in Australia's Northern Territory, and also to the island of New Guinea, where it is thought to live in all larger and some smaller southward-flowing rivers.
