Meet the Pig-nosed turtle
The pig-nosed turtle looks like a mash-up of animals: a fleshy, pig-like nose for snorkelling, a soft leathery shell instead of hard plates, and big flippers like a sea turtle's, even though it lives in fresh water. It is the only living species in the family Carettochelyidae.
It was described by Edward Ramsay in 1886 from New Guinea. In Australia it lives only in a handful of Top End river systems, where it eats a mixed diet that includes fruit, flowers and leaves that drop into the water, as well as shellfish, crustaceans and insects.
Females nest late in the dry season on sandy riverbanks. Fully developed hatchlings can wait inside their eggs until the nest is flooded or a sudden drop in air pressure signals an approaching storm, and then hatch, giving them the best chance as the wet season begins.
It matures slowly, around 16 years for males and 18 for females. Feral animals such as water buffalo damage nesting banks in Australia, while in New Guinea harvesting and the illegal pet trade are major threats; more than 80,000 were confiscated in seizures in PNG and Indonesia between 2003 and 2013.
Where it lives
In Australia it is found only in the Top End of the Northern Territory, in rivers including the Daly, Victoria and Alligator Rivers systems; it also lives in southern New Guinea. It favours slow-flowing streams, lagoons and billabongs with sandy banks.