The Spiny Turtle, Heosemys spinosa (Gray 1830), is found from southern Thailand southward into Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and on the islands of Sumatra, Borneo, and the Philippines (De Rooji 1915; Smith 1931; Bourret 1941). Although H. spinosa has long been assumed to occur in southern Myanmar (Smith 1931), confirmed, specimen-based records are lacking (Iverson 1992). Here we report the first such records of H. spinosa from Myanmar, present natural history information, and comment on conservation status and anthropogenic threats.

We verified the occurrence of H. spinosa in Myanmar during January–February 2004 while attempting to locate remnant populations of the critically endangered Mangrove Terrapin Batagur affinis in coastal regions of Tanintharyi Region (formerly “Division”) (Platt et al. 2008). Coastal Tanintharyi Region is characterized by low human population densities and extensive mangrove forests (Eames et al. 2005; Giesen et al. 2006). Although most land near villages and towns is devoted to rice agriculture, extensive seasonally inundated wetlands remain in the floodplains of rivers that originate along the Thai–Myanmar border and flow into the Andaman Sea. Widespread deforestation is underway in many areas of Tanintharyi Region as a result of government policies that encourage conversion of natural forest to oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) plantations (Eames et al. 2005).

During this investigation we conducted semidirected, open-ended interviews (Martin 1995; Huntington 2000) of fishermen, turtle-egg collectors, and other knowledgeable villagers regarding the occurrence, natural history, folk taxonomy (sensu Berlin et al. 1966), and exploitation of the local chelonian fauna. In accordance with the format of an open-ended interview, we asked each informant a series of questions that included standard questions prepared in advance and others that arose during the course of conversation (Martin 1995). We also asked to examine any living turtles or shells that might be available in villages, and measured the straight-line carapace length (CL) of these specimens with tree calipers (presented as mean ± 1 standard deviation [SD]). To qualitatively assess habitat, we accompanied informants to specific locations where H. spinosa had recently been captured. Place names are in accordance with local usage and geographic coordinates (India-Bangladesh Datum) were determined with a Garmin® GPS12.

We examined 5 living adult H. spinosa (CL  =  181 ± 23 mm SD; range  =  152 to 213 mm; Fig. 1) in Kan Baw Gyi Village (lat 10°16′38.6″N, long 98°59′74.3″E; Fig. 2) during this investigation. According to our informants, these turtles were being held for eventual export to Thailand after having been captured in riparian wetlands along Kan Baw Gyi Chaung. Photographic vouchers (CUSC 2906) of these turtles were deposited in the Campbell Museum, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina. To our knowledge, these turtles constitute the first specimen-based records of H. spinosa in Myanmar and validate earlier assumptions of its presence in the country (Smith 1931). Our findings are not unexpected as H. spinosa is known to occur in adjacent areas of Thailand (Iverson 1992; Thirakhupt and van Dijk 1995).

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In contrast to other reports that suggest H. spinosa is restricted to densely forested hill streams (Smith 1931; Das 2006; Cox et al. 2010), the specimens we examined in Tanintharyi Region were harvested from a seasonally inundated lowland riparian wetland characterized by shallow water with an abundance of emergent vegetation, including various sedges, grasses, and Nelumbo sp., and a sparse overstory of scattered shrubs and small trees (Fig. 3). Within this wetland, hunters reported finding H. spinosa beneath ground debris, among flooded vegetation, and under fruiting trees. Perceptions of abundance varied, but the consensus among our informants was that H. spinosa remains common in suitable habitat. Morenia ocellata, Siebenrockiella crassicollis, and Heosemys grandis were said to occur sympatrically with H. spinosa in Kam Baw Gyi Chaung.

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Heosemys spinosa is known locally as yin-ngan leik ( =  snake fruit turtle) because fruit of the yin-ngan tree (Salacca spp.) is considered an important component of the diet. Indeed, several of our informants reportedly harvest H. spinosa by searching beneath fruiting yin-ngan trees for foraging turtles. Heosemys spinosa is also said to feed on fallen fruit beneath zin byun trees (Dillenia pentagyna) at the onset of the wet season (May–June). Dillenia pentagyna fruit has likewise been reported in the diet of Heosemys depressa and Indotestudo elongata from elsewhere in Myanmar (Platt et al. 2010, 2014). Although saurochory remains little studied and poorly understood in Southeast Asia (Corelett 1998), these reports collectively suggest chelonians are potentially important seed dispersal agents for this tree.

Heosemys spinosa is considered globally endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) owing to widespread overcollection to meet the demands of food and pet markets in southern China (IUCN 2012). Assessing the conservation status of H. spinosa in Myanmar is problematic given the lack of data, but potential threats include subsistence and commercial harvesting, and widespread habitat destruction. Our interviews suggest that except in the vicinity of towns and villages, harvesting probably poses little immediate threat to H. spinosa populations in southern Myanmar. Because of its relatively small adult body size and minimal meat yield, few villagers purposefully target H. spinosa and our interview data indicate harvesting is largely opportunistic; i.e., turtles are captured incidental to other activities (e.g., fishing and agriculture), and either consumed locally or sold to wildlife traders and then smuggled into Thailand, presumably destined for pet markets in Bangkok. Owing to the small amount villagers receive for H. spinosa, large-scale commercial harvesting is probably not an economically worthwhile proposition. By far the greatest threat to H. spinosa is the widespread conversion of natural forest to oil palm plantations currently underway throughout much of southern Myanmar. Government plans called for the conversion of 231,500 ha of natural forest to oil palm plantations by 2008 (Eames et al. 2005), although whether or not this goal has been attained remains unclear. Nonetheless, our own observations indicate that land clearance continues unabated, even within areas of nominally protected land such as reserved forests (Platt et al. 2012).

Given these threats and the fact that the occurrence of H. spinosa has yet to be confirmed within any protected area in Myanmar, there is an urgent need to locate populations that might benefit from conservation action. Several extensive protected areas in Tanintharyi Region (Beffasti and Galanti 2011), most notably Tanintharyi National Park (2072 km²), Tanintharyi Nature Reserve (1700 km²), and the proposed Lenya National Park (1761 km²), probably constitute globally important sites for the conservation of H. spinosa and, as such, surveys of these areas should be accorded the highest priority.