Description
The Yangtze giant softshell turtle is noted for its deep head with pig-like snout and eyes dorsally placed. This critically endangered species holds the title of being the largest freshwater turtle in the world. It measures over 100 cm (39 in) in length and 70 cm (28 in) in width, and weighs about 70–100 kg (150–220 lb). The specimen caught from Vietnam weighed over 200 kg (440 lb). Its carapace, or shell, can grow larger than 50 cm (20 in) in length and width. Its head can measure over 20 cm (7.9 in) in length and 10 cm (3.9 in) in width. The male is generally smaller than the female and has a longer, larger tail.
Read more about this topic: Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle
Famous quotes containing the word description:
“The great object in life is Sensation—to feel that we exist, even though in pain; it is this “craving void” which drives us to gaming, to battle, to travel, to intemperate but keenly felt pursuits of every description whose principal attraction is the agitation inseparable from their accomplishment.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“As they are not seen on their way down the streams, it is thought by fishermen that they never return, but waste away and die, clinging to rocks and stumps of trees for an indefinite period; a tragic feature in the scenery of the river bottoms worthy to be remembered with Shakespeare’s description of the sea-floor.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“It [Egypt] has more wonders in it than any other country in the world and provides more works that defy description than any other place.”
—Herodotus (c. 484–424 B.C.)