@biodiversidadargentina POND TURTLES MATING TORTUGA DE LAGUNA Phrynops hilarii #turtle #tortoise

The pond turtle (Phrynops hilarii) can reach a size of up to 40 cm and like all amphibious reptiles, this species prefers to live in calm waters with abundant vegetation. They are excellent swimmers due to the modifications that their anatomy has undergone in the course of evolution, endowed with a hydrodynamic design, since the carapace -considerably smooth- is compressed in its dorsal and ventral part. The limbs are also flattened backwards; they also have membranes between the toes which, when extended, facilitate swimming. The pond turtle's reproductive activity begins around December, when courtship, copulation and egg laying are clearly observable; it ends around February, when the specimens dedicate more time to other equally important behaviors such as sunbathing and searching for food. A few meters from the water, in an area devoid of vegetation - both on sand and on land - the mother-to-be looks for a place with adequate humidity and lighting, where the sun's rays strike in such a way as to allow the eggs to hatch. Using alternately each hind limb, she digs an ellipsoidal hole about nine centimeters long by seven centimeters wide and approximately eleven centimeters deep, where she lays up to 40 eggs. She then covers the nest and keeps a close watch on the nest. The gestation time of the embryos, incubated inside the hole, is 70 days if conditions are optimal, but, as with most reptiles, if environmental conditions are not favorable, hatching can be significantly delayed. The number of eggs laid by females ranges from five to twenty-two. The eggs are white, round, smooth to the touch; they are well calcified (their shell is hard), almost spherical (about three centimeters in diameter) and weigh between 15 and 16.5 grams. Finally, when all the conditions are right, the hatchlings are born, whose backs measure less than three and a half centimeters long and almost three centimeters wide. They immediately head for the water and take refuge during their first period of life among the aquatic vegetation where they find adequate food for their development -small insects, snails and fish-, and where they also find a suitable place to sunbathe.

Видео @biodiversidadargentina POND TURTLES MATING TORTUGA DE LAGUNA Phrynops hilarii #turtle #tortoise канала Biodiversidad Argentina - Walter Prado