Vol. 49 No. 5, 2010

Distribution of the Big-Headed Turtle (Platysternon megacephalum, Gray 1831) in Thailand

Kruewan Pipatsawasdikul¹, Harold K. Voris², and Kumthorn Thirakhupt^3,*

¹Inter-department of Environmental Science, Chulalongkorn University, 254 Phayathai Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
²Department of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, USA
³Department  of  Biology, Faculty  of  Science, Chulalongkorn  University, 254 Phayathai Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Kruewan Pipatsawasdikul, Harold K. Voris, and Kumthorn Thirakhupt (2010) The distribution of the big-headed turtle Platysternon megacephalum, Gray 1831 in Thailand was studied from Dec. 2006 to Apr. 2009.  Mountain streams of protected and unprotected areas throughout Thailand, except in the southern peninsular region, were ground surveyed.  This study confirms the occurrence of P. megacephalum in 1 new and 9 previously reported river basins in the northeastern part of Thailand.  Among these, 22 new localities at elevations of 430-1350 m were reported.  Most P. megacephalum individuals were found at night in small, often rapidly flowing mountain streams in dry dipterocarp and montane rainforests.  The water temperature of these streams ranged 15.5-20.3°C (X = 19.04 ± 2.10°C, n = 33), pH values ranged 5.32-8.07, and water depths were 14.0-95.0 cm (X = 41.67 ± 25.30 cm, n = 33).  The turtles appeared to be most abundant at elevations of 630-720 m.  Platysternon megacephalum populations face serious threats from habitat loss, human consumption, and commercial harvest of turtles.  This species urgently needs an aggressive conservation program to ensure its survival.

Key words: Platysternon megacephalum, big-headed turtle, distribution, Thailand.

*Correspondence: Tel: 66-2-2185259.  Fax: 66-2-2185260.   E-mail:kumthorn.t@chula.ac.th