---
title: "Spiny Terrapin"
description: "Heosemys spinosa — Reptiles. The spiny turtle (Heosemys spinosa) is a South-East Asian turtle species."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/spiny-terrapin
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Spiny Terrapin

> Heosemys spinosa — Reptiles. The spiny turtle (Heosemys spinosa) is a South-East Asian turtle species.

- Scientific name: *Heosemys spinosa*
- Category: `reptiles` (Reptiles)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest), `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers), `jungle` (Jungle)
- iNaturalist observations: 506
- Wikidata: [Q2532001](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2532001)
- iNaturalist taxon: [40005](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/40005)

## Names

- en: Spiny Terrapin
- de: Stachel-Erdschildkröte
- fr: Héosémyde épineuse
- nl: Gestekelde aardschildpad
- pl: Żółw ciernisty

## Countries with the most observations

MY (174), ID (109), SG (89), TH (49)

## Summary

The spiny turtle (Heosemys spinosa) is a South-East Asian turtle species. It inhabits lowland and hill rainforest, usually dwelling in the vicinity of small streams in hill areas up to 1,000 m above sea level. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, India, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiny_turtle

## Photo

![Spiny Terrapin](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/spiny-terrapin/medium.jpg)

Photo: Justin Philbois · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/220629316

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/spiny-terrapin?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).