Blond Shell of a South American Amazonian Arrau River Turtle ‘Podocnemis Expansa’

Blond Shell of a South American Amazonian Arrau River Turtle ‘Podocnemis Expansa’
Fine old smooth silky patina
19th Century
Size: 66cm high, 48cm wide - 26 ins high, 19 ins wide
These turtles have distinctly wide and flattened shells and can be as large as sea turtles. They congregate on large sand banks to nest from September to November in Brazil and March to April in Venezuela, although they have now been virtually eliminated from the entire upper Amazon area of Brazil. In the 19th century oil was extracted from their eggs and used for lamps and cooking and the large adults were killed for meat. In Venezuela the tagging of wild turtles has shown that a lapse of four years separates the nesting seasons of individual turtles. Their nesting sites are now protected, but their decline has been massive, from an estimated 330,000 in 1799 to 13,800 in 1969.

Blond Shell of a South American Amazonian Arrau River Turtle ‘Podocnemis Expansa’

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ENQUIRIES

+44 (0)7768 236921
+44 (0)7836 684133

enquiries@finch-and-co.co.uk