Identifying Turtles

Anyone who has been to a park in Bangkok has seen the turtles in the city’s ponds. Turtles are an essential part of Thailand’s aquatic ecosystems and the country is full of beautiful and interesting turtle species. Unfortunately, many of Thailand’s turtles are endangered or extinct due to habitat destruction and the harvesting of large numbers of turtles for food and traditional medicine. The turtles you see in the city were released there from pet stores or markets, and finding a truly wild turtle in Bangkok is very difficult. This is a quick guide to identify those turtle species that can be seen here:

If the turtle has a flat, soft shell and a long snout, it is a softshell turtle:

Asian Softshell Turtle – up to 83cm long, row of bumps across front edge of shell

Chinese Softshell Turtle – no more than 37cm long, especially long neck, single bump on front edge of shell

If the turtle has a large, domed shell and a yellowish or orangish head, it is either a Yellow-headed Temple Turtle or a Giant Asian Pond Turtle:

Giant Asian Pond Turtle – orangish marks on head, adults lack keel on shell

Yellow-headed Temple Turtle – yellowish marks on head, adults have keel on shell

If the turtle has a red mark on the side of its head, it is a Red-eared Slider:

Red-eared Slider – red spot behind eye that fades with age

If the turtle has yellow or white stripes on the side of its head, it is a Malayan Snail-eating Turtle or a Southeast Asian Box Turtle

Malayan Snail-eating Turtle – 3 keels on shell, white-to-yellow stripes that wrap around eye

Southeast Asian Box Turtle – only 1 keel on shell, yellow stripes that go through eye

If the turtle is all black with one or more pale spots on its head, or no markings at all, it is a Black Marsh Turtle.

Black Marsh Turtle – all black with pale spot behind eye, “smiling” face

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