KidZone Animals
Spiny Turtle

© written by Tasha Guenther

"Spiny Turtle (Heosemys spinosa)"; used with permission under CC BY-SA 2.0

Okay, this is one cool looking turtle... At some angles, and in some photos, the Spiny turtle (Heosemys spinosa) almost looks as if it is on fire! The Spiny turtle is a part of the Asian river turtle family, Geoemydidae.

The Spiny turtle's colours resemble that of a volcano - dark gray to black and red to deep orange. They are generally smaller turtles measuring anywhere between 17.5-22 cm. Like most turtles, the males have longer, thicker tails than the females.