Malayan Soft-shelled Turtle

Malayan Soft-shelled Turtle

Dogania subplana

Silhouette: Armin Reindl · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Gunung Leuser National Park

In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%

27 Verified sightings at Gunung Leuser National Park From 2019 to 2026
37 In all 2 parks
June Best month
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted

About the Malayan Soft-shelled Turtle

The Malayan softshell turtle (Dogania subplana) is a species of softshell turtle in the family Trionychidae. It is monotypic in its genus. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan), Malaysia (West Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak), Myanmar, the Philippines, and Singapore.

Adults may attain a carapace length of 35 cm (13.7 in). The head is large and muscular. The carapace is flat, and has straight sides. Juveniles are reddish on the sides of the neck, and have a few round black spots (ocelli) on the carapace. These markings become obscure as the turtles age.

This turtle is a medium to dark brown-green. The nose is long and tapered as with members of the family, Trionychidae. It has eight pairs of pleuralia. D. subplana prefers to live in the clean running water which is found in rocky streams at higher elevations. It feeds on snails and other molluscs, crushing their shells with its powerful jaws. Bibliography

van Dijk, Peter Paul; Iverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Bour, Roger; Rhodin, Anders G.J. (2011-12-31). "Turtles of the world, 2011 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Gunung Leuser National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~30%
2 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Toronto Zoo 🇨🇦 Canada In captivity

Closest Relatives at Gunung Leuser National Park

No species of the same family or order lives in Gunung Leuser National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Malayan Soft-shelled Turtle in Gunung Leuser National Park?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Malayan Soft-shelled Turtle sighting in Gunung Leuser National Park on a given day, based on 27 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 6th most-seen of the 47 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Malayan Soft-shelled Turtle in Gunung Leuser National Park?

June and September

In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Malayan Soft-shelled Turtle in Gunung Leuser National Park on a given day, against about 20% in January and February, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Malayan Soft-shelled Turtle?

Between 8 and 11 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Malayan Soft-shelled Turtle sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.

Is Gunung Leuser National Park the best place to see a Malayan Soft-shelled Turtle?

Yes

Of the 2 parks where we can rate Malayan Soft-shelled Turtle sightings, Gunung Leuser National Park has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Kaeng Krachan National Park (Thailand, about 10%).

Where does the Malayan Soft-shelled Turtle sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Malayan Soft-shelled Turtle is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Gunung Leuser National Park (27 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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