Podocnemis – South American river turtles

This genus’s members are commonly known as ‘river turtles.’

These river turtles are found in South America and are very large compared to other turtle species; These turtles are in severe danger from habitat degradation, dams, pollution, hunting of adults, and gathering of eggs as other factors.

These turtles primarily consume plant matter like fruits, seeds, leaves, legumes, and algae. However, they sometimes consume freshwater sponges, eggs, and animal corpses (such as dead fish). It has been observed that captives consume meat. Young animals eat fish and plant matter for food. The species spends most of the day active.