Abstract

The Asian narrow-headed softshell turtle, Chitra chitra Nutphand, 1986, one of the world’s largest freshwater turtles, inhabits Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, and Indonesia and faced severe population declines in the recent decades, now listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. In Thailand, while C. chitra is known to inhabit the Mae Klong River and Mae Ping River, its ecology and population status are poorly understood. Our field surveys and informal discussions with local people along the Mae Klong River in Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi provinces confirmed the species’ continued presence in its historical range after a 20-yr gap in published records, also documenting its habitat and threats at the local scale.