The species is found in the Atlantic drainages of Central America, specifically Belize, Guatemala, southern Mexico and probably Honduras.

It is a relatively large-bodied species, with records of 60 cm (24 in) straight carapace length and weights of 22 kg (49 lb); although most individuals are smaller.

Among the modern communities inheriting this land the turtle continues to be eagerly sought as a dish eaten during important cultural events.

Much has been discovered regarding their animal husbandry, with some US scientists now musing that commercial breeding might be cost effective using experimental polyculture systems with the turtles as a secondary income source.

[12] Many species sharing a similar distribution have phylogeographic structure revealed in their genomes, with the population often being split into at least three subgroups representing the three main Atlantic hydrological basins of this region, the Papaloapan, Coatzacoalcos and Grijalva-Usumacinta.

Although some genetic structure was evident, most locations showed a high rate of mixing of different lineages, with two main closely related mitochondrial haplotypes dominating the population.

Hydrological reproductive barriers between populations may have led to the main lineages splitting in the Pliocene to Pleistocene (3.73–0.227 million years ago), generally enough time to accumulate the genetic divergences for speciation to occur.

[14] This 2013 study found no sign of a recent bottleneck in the fifteen locations sampled, indicating that harvesting going for the past half century had not yet had an effect on genomic diversity, possibly a long generation time and delayed sexual maturity of D. mawii buffering against loss of genetic diversity despite population size reduction.

The study found that this suggests likely thousands of years of human-mediated trade, but that it might also just mean that this species is capable of moving great distances during its life.

Besides microsatellite regions another part of the nuclear DNA was looked at, a 779 bp fragment of first intron of the RNA protein R35, with four haplotypes found.

[14] The overall pattern is completely different in the alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii), which is also often caught, but in which gene flow between populations is very low, but the mixed lineages are somewhat similar to the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin), with translocations during the early twentieth century, or the radiated tortoise (Geochelone radiata) and gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus), which show contemporary population structuring influenced by recent releases.

[14] The 2013 study concluded that as there was evidence of substantial genetic mingling the species was best regarded as a single cohesive 'management unit' for conservation purposes,[14] as opposed to Vogt et al. in 2011.

It has a low, flattened, smooth carapace with a median keel present in juveniles, it is usually a uniform brown, almost black, grey or olive in colour.

D. mawii lives in Atlantic-draining larger rivers and lakes in Central America, from southern Mexico through Belize to the Guatemalan-Honduran border.

[16] In Guatemala the species occurs from southern and central Petén Department, south to Lago de Izabal and the rivers which drain into it.

Otter predation can be recognised by the manner by which they typically chew off the heads, tail and limbs, sometimes slurping out the entrails, but leave the shell intact.

[9] A possible predator is the jaguar (Panthera onca), which feeds on turtles in general by cracking the shell open to scoop out the contents.

Serpinema trispinosum is a parasitic nematode (also see entry on diet below) which has been recovered from a wide variety of freshwater turtles in North and Central America.

[9] It feeds during the night, spending most of the day underwater, generally in the deepest parts, usually near or under large branches and likewise, and often half-buried in the mud.

The intestines of these turtles are commonly swarming with nematodes-again, in iguanas of the Cyclura genus similar worms appear to aid in digestion, but in this case it is unknown if they are parasites, commensals or symbionts.

Juveniles in captivity tend to more readily accept animal matter as food which may show that young D. mawii are more apt to be carnivorous.

[14] According to a study by Götz which looked at the contents of different kitchen middens in the Yucatán, it is clear that although all species of turtles were eaten, D. mawii was a luxury product of the elites.

[26] Today the turtle remains much loved as a traditional feast food in the Tabasco community, where it is considered a mark of cultural identity.

[26] In Belize these turtles are a culturally important food and popularly served as a traditional dish especially around the festivities of Easter, Christmas and La Ruta Maya, which is a canoe race in March attended by many people.

[27] A recipe from the 1950s or 1960s advises pouring boiling water over the chopped pieces of hickatee to remove the thin skin, seasoning the meat with thyme, black pepper, onion, garlic and vinegar and letting it marinate overnight, cooking in hot oil, mixing with coconut cream and serving with rice.

[15] In 1997 Polisar claimed it was rarely found in captivity, and that breeding would probably be impractical because he thought the nesting behaviour was complicated in this species.

[9] The turtles were three times a week fed with commercial pellets for tilapia fish, Melampodium divaricatum and Eichhornia crassipes, sometimes with the odd vegetable.

[22] The Mexican government has stimulated the breeding of this species in captivity, and as of 2009 fourteen farms were officially registered with the Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, holding a few dozen to a few hundred turtles each.

In 2011 some US scientists mused that commercial breeding might be cost effective using experimental aquatic polyculture systems with the turtles as a secondary income source, and shrimp as the main crop.

[9] A project conducted by TSA on Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education property began in early 2011 focused on generating food plants and exploring husbandry details, such as egg laying and incubation.