A gray Fly River turtle swimming with flipper-like legs. — Photo: Bjoertvedt, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Fly River Turtle

Carettochelys insculpta

A pig-nosed freshwater turtle with flipper-like front legs and a leathery shell, the last of its turtle family.

🐢 Turtles and Tortoises

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About the Fly River Turtle

Fly River turtles, also called pig-nosed turtles, grow up to 27.5 inches long and 66 pounds. They have flipper-shaped front legs, webbed back legs and a shell covered in leathery skin. They live in warm rivers, lakes and lagoons with slow currents in Papua New Guinea, northern Australia and southern Indonesia. They eat mostly fruit, nuts and water plants, plus snails and other small prey.^[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name: Carettochelys insculpta^[1]
Size: Up to 27.5 inches long.^[1]
Weight: Up to 66 pounds.^[1]
Lifespan: Into the late 30s in human care.^[1]
Diet: Omnivore. Mostly fruit, nuts and water plants, plus snails and other small prey.^[1]
Habitat: Warm, slow rivers, streams, lakes and lagoons with soft bottoms.^[1]
Where it lives: Papua New Guinea, northern Australia and southern Indonesia.^[1]
Babies: Up to 2 clutches a year of 4 to 39 eggs.^[1]
Conservation status: Endangered (IUCN Red List, assessed 2017).^[2]

Fun facts

It's also called the pig-nosed turtle.^[1]
It is the last living member of its turtle family.^[1]
Nest temperature decides whether hatchlings are male or female.^[1]

Vocabulary

carapace: The top part of a turtle's shell.
flipper: A flat limb used for swimming.
plastron: The bottom part of a turtle's shell.
omnivore: An animal that eats both plants and other animals.
endangered: A conservation label meaning a species faces a very high risk of dying out in the wild.

See it in person

Smithsonian's National ZooWashington, D.C. · Reptile Discovery CenterSee this animal on the zoo's website ↗

These zoos had this animal when we gathered our information, but animals sometimes move. Check the zoo's website or contact the zoo before you visit.

Sources

[1] Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. “Fly River turtle.” https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/fly-river-turtle (accessed 2026-10-08)
[2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Carettochelys insculpta (Pig-nosed Turtle).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/3898/2884984 (accessed 2026-10-08)

Facts last checked 2026-10-08.

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