The Madagascar big-headed turtle is a freshwater turtle with a very large head that cannot be fully hidden in its shell. It lives only in the rivers and lakes of Madagascar and tucks its neck sideways.
The Madagascar big-headed turtle differs from other turtles by its huge head and lateral way of hiding its neck. It is important for nature because it helps keep water bodies clean and serves as food for large predators. The species is threatened due to habitat loss.
Captures food with powerful jaws and crushes it.
Immature form that undergoes metamorphosis before adulthood.
Worker
birth time
Heavy rains in summer
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
very hot and very humid all year round, rain almost every day
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
crustaceans
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
mollusks
small planktonic crustaceans — copepods, krill
very heavy rains in summer, almost no precipitation in winter
adult
Maturity
Handbag
insects
About health
from 1.2 to 4.8 kilograms, 0.7 – 1.4 meters
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
summer warm, winter not very cold
Carapace size
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
hot, rains in summer, little precipitation in winter
Uses jaws or beak to break hard-shelled or tough food items.
live fish
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
Trophic type
Filters
Upcoming birthdays
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
lake
Limbs size
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Hot, little precipitation in winter
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
Age (larva)
algae
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
young after fast growth
Carapace color
Juvenile stage following larval metamorphosis but not yet adult.
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
hot, there is a dry season, trees shed their leaves
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
fish
end of acceleration
Share
live snails, mussels, oysters
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
Freshwater
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
Egg count
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
Pets
all rivers and lakes
Tropical dry broadleaf forest
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
Neck color
turns
Rascals
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Tropical savanna
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Egg color
Where are they found?
Species lacks any fixed or lasting shelter structure.
all rivers and lakes
Low precipitation in winter
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
Taxons
if born as {name}
omnivore
age
birth date
Head size
no permanent shelter
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
teeth
Potential Habitat
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
Plastron color
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
{name} birthday
Always hot
No results found
On the map
lunge
all life stages
Female ♀
world of Afrotropics
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Maturity
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
How similar?
Neck size
Male ♂
until the celebration
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Neither
from birth to adulthood
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
from birth to death
early young
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
world of Afrotropics
Freshwater
Duration
live insects
Always hot and wet
This is me
freshwater
Gamers
aquatic plants and algae
crushing
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
terrestrial
Limbs color
Asexual
swap
freshwater environment — rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps
active predation
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Head color
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
very hot all year round, frequent rains, but sometimes dry
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
river
Hermaphrodite ⚥
embryo
Length
kg
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
Observations
◉{N} more on tap