Giant South American turtle  (Podocnemis expansa)

Alga: A collection of taxonomically unrelated groups that share some common features but are grouped together for historical reasons and for convenience. They are of simple construction, and are mainly photoautotrophic, obtaining all their energy from light and carbon dioxide, and possess the photosynthetic pigment, chlorophyll A. They range in complexity from microscopic single cells to very complex plant-like forms, such as kelps. Algal groups include blue-green algae (cyanobacteria), red algae (rhodophyta), green algae (chlorophyta), brown algae and diatoms (chromista) as well as euglenophyta.
Carapace: The top shell of a turtle. In arthropods (insects, crabs etc), the fused head and thorax (the part of the body located near the head) also known as ‘cephalothorax'.
Carrion: Dead flesh.
Herbivorous: Diet comprises only vegetable matter.

1. IUCN Red List (October, 2004)
   http://www.redlist.org
   
2. CITES (October, 2004)
   http://www.cites.org
   
3. Adler, K. and Halliday, T. (2002) The New Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
   
4. Caldwell, J.P., Vitt, L.J. and Zug, G.R. (2001) Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles. Academic Press, USA.
   
5. Animal Diversity Web (October, 2004)
   http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Pelomedusidae.html
   
6. EMYSystem World Turtle Database (October, 2004)
   http://emys.geo.orst.edu/collection/species/Podocnemisexpansa/Podocnemisexpansa.html
   
7. WWF (October, 2004)
   http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/ecoregions/global200/pages/regions/region147.htm
   
8. Vanzolini, P.E. (2003) On clutch size and hatching success of South American turtles Podocnemis expansa and P. unfilis. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 75 (4): 415 - 430.
   
9. Proceedings: Conservation, Restoration, and Management of Tortoises and Turtles – An International Conference: Management Plan for the Giant Amazonian Turtle, Podocnemis expansa, in De La Tortuga Arrau Wildlife Refuge, Orinoco River, Venezuela (October, 2004)
   http://nytts.org/proceedings/licata.htm
   
10. Impact of Climate Change of Life and Ecosystems (October, 2004)
    http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/impacts/biology/turtles/
    
11. Valenzuela, N. (2000) Multiple paternity in side-necked turtles Podocnemis expansa: evidence from microsatellite DNA data. Molecular Ecology, 9: 99 - 103.