| Crowned overall winner. Podocnemis expansa. “The Giant South American turtle (Podocnemis expansa), also known as the tartaruga–da–amazônia, is the largest of the side–neck turtles. This picture was taken in one of the most important areas of conservation for this species: the Cantão State Park, in Tocantins, Brazil. The Park is located in the Brazilian “Savanna” or Cerrado, a biodiversity hotspot that is yet poorly known but is thought to be equally or even more biodiverse than the Amazon ecosystem. I was there as part of a research group working in the field to collect data on the status of reptiles and amphibians’ populations for conservation purposes.” Attribution: Ana Carolina Lima. CC BY4.0 |
