List of Endangered Species of Aquatic Turtles

Geoemydidae

• The majority of the world's most endangered turtles belong to this family. Until 2005, the Yunnan Box Turtle was believed to be extinct; however, a small amount was found in China and their location has been secret ever since. Myanmar River Turtles are located in Burma; when mating, their shells become silver with black stripes. The Red-crowned River Turtle can be found swimming in the Chambal River in central India. There are few Annam Pond Turtles left in Vietnam after they were hunted for the Chinese food trade in the 1990s. These turtles are notable for their black heads with yellow stripes. The other critically endangered turtles from the Geoemydidae family are the Zhou's Box Turtle, McCord's Box Turtle, the Yellow-Headed Box Turtle, Golden Coin Turtle, The Northern River Terrapin, The Southern River Terrapin, Painted Batagur, Philippine Pond Turtle and the Sulawesi Forest Turtle.

Chelidae

• The Roti Island Snake-Necked Turtle can only be found on Roti Island in Indonesia. It has a long neck and grows to over 8 inches long on average. It has been overly collected for the pet trade and is now extremely endangered. The Western Swamp Turtle from Australia has a long, spiny neck and can grow up to 15 inches long. The Hoge's Sideneck Turtle found in Brazil is also critically endangered.

Trionychidae

• The Trionychidae family has two critically endangered species; one is the Southeast Asian Giant Soft Shelled Turtle, weighing up to a quarter of a ton. The other is the most endangered turtle in the world, the Red River Giant Soft Shell Turtle. There are only four of these turtles left on the planet; they are notable for their pig-like snout and huge size, growing up to 39 inches in length.

Other Families

• From the Podocnemididae family, the Madagascar Big-Headed Turtle lives in streams, rivers, lagoons and swamps in the African Island of Madagascar. Magdalena River Turtles inhabit Columbia. The Central American River Turtle of the Dermatemydidae family lives in clear rivers and lakes in Mexico, Belize and Guatemala.