- African pancake tortoise
- Amethystine python
- Black marsh turtle
- Blue-tongued skink
- Colombian rainbow boa
- Cuban boa
- Egyptian tortoise
- Geoffroy's side-necked turtle
- Giant tortoise
- Gila monster
- Golden Mantella frog
- Green tree python
- Inland bearded dragon
- Madagascan tree boa
- Marbled milk frog
- Philippine sail-fin water dragon
- Plumed basilisk
- Poison arrow frog
- Prehensile-tailed skink
- Red-eared terrapin
- Rhinoceros iguana
- Standing's day gecko
- Thai tree frog
- Veiled chameleon
- West African dwarf crocodile
- Western chuckwalla
- White-lipped python
- Yellow-spotted Amazon River turtle
- Yellow-headed day's gecko
Black marsh turtle
Scientific name: Siebenrockiella crassicollis
Country: Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore
Continent: Asia
Diet: This is a carnivorous species and its diet in the wild would consist of worms, snails, shrimps and carrion.
Food & feeding: Insects- insectivore, crustaceans- crustacivore, frogs- ranivore, worms.
Habitats: Freshwater, tropical rainforest
Conservation status: Vulnerable
Relatives: Giant tortoise, red-eared terrapin
Description: They are almost all black, with several white markings on their heads. The eyes are outlined in white but adult males lose these white markings. The feet are fully webbed. It is a small turtle that rarely reaches 20 cm.
Lifestyle: In the wild, these turtles inhabit freshwater ponds and lakes with muddy bottoms and lots of vegetation. They are also found in fish pools of the south-east Asian temples and are sometimes called the "bad-smelling turtle" although it is the pools rather than the turtles that are smelly.
Growing up: In a year, a female will lay three or four clutches of one or two eggs. Many of the young die at an early age and they take a long time to reach sexual maturity, which is one reason why there is concern for the survival of this species in the wild.
According to Thai legend the souls of people, who have died in the attempt to save others from drowning, live in these turtles.
Conservation news: The main threat to this species is collecting for food and there is an international trade in these turtles. Bristol Zoo Gardens has played a vital role in a European-wide rescue effort to protect this species, by successfully treating rescued captive turtles from the affects of pneumonia, malaria and malnutrition. The turtles are now healthy and will contribute to a breeding programme to ensure their species survival.
In December 2001 Bristol Zoo Gardens provided a home and veterinary care to several of the rare and endangered turtles rescued by the Turtle Survival Alliance from the trade for exotic meat.
