Indian black turtle

Indian black turtle
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Family:	Geoemydidae
Genus:	Melanochelys
Species:	M. trijuga
Binomial name
Melanochelys trijuga (Schweigger, 1812)
Synonyms
Melanochelys trijuga trijuga Emys trijuga Schweigger, 1812 Emys belangeri Lesson, 1834 Clemmys (Clemmys) trijuga Fitzinger, 1835 Melanochelys trijuga Gray, 1869 Emys trijuga var. madraspatana Anderson, 1879 Clemmys theobaldi Lydekker, 1885 Bellia theobaldi Lydekker, 1889 Nicoria trijuga Boulenger, 1889 Geoemyda [trijuga] trijuga Siebenrock, 1909 Geoemyda trijuga plumbea Annandale, 1915 Melanochelys trijuga Deraniyagala, 1939 Melanochelys trijuga trijuga Pritchard, 1979 Melanochelys triguja Highfield, 1996 (ex errore) Melanochelys trijuga coronata Emys trijuga var. coronata Anderson, 1879 Nicoria trijuga var. coronata Bruner, 1908 Geoemyda trijuga coronata Siebenrock, 1909 Melanochelys trijuga coronata Pritchard, 1979 Melanochelys trijuga edeniana Melanochelys edeniana Theobald, 1876 Emys trijuga var. burmana Anderson, 1879 Nicoria trijuga var. edeniana Boulenger, 1889 Geoemyda trijuga edeniana Siebenrock, 1909 Melanochelys trijuga edeniana Deraniyagala, 1939 Emys trijuga edeniana Bourret, 1941 Geoemyda trijuga wiroti Reimann, 1979 Melanochelys trijuga wiroti Stubbs, 1989 Melanochelys edeniana edeniana Bour, 2002 Melanochelys edeniana wiroti Bour, 2002 Melanochelys trijuga indopeninsularis Geoemyda indopeninsularis Annandale, 1913 Geoemyda trijuga indopeninsularis Smith, 1931 Melanochelys trijuga indopeninsularis Deraniyagala, 1939 Melanochelys edeniana indopeninsularis Bour, 2002 Melanochelys trijuga parkeri Melanochelys trijuga parkeri Deraniyagala, 1939 Geoemyda trijuga parkeri Mertens & Wermuth, 1955 Melanochelys trijuga thermalis Emys thermalis Lesson, 1830 Emys sebae Gray, 1831 Emys seba Gray, 1844 (ex errore) Geoclemys seba Gray, 1856 Clemmys thermalis Strauch, 1862 Melanochelys sebae Gray, 1870 Emys trijuga var. sebae Anderson, 1879 Nicoria trijuga var. thermalis Boulenger, 1889 Geoemyda trijuga thermalis Siebenrock, 1909 Melanochelys trijuga thermalis Deraniyagala, 1939

Indian black turtle (Melanochelys trijuga) or Indian pond terrapin is a species of turtle found in South Asia. it is a medium-sized fresh water turtle. despite its name the color of its upper shell or carapace varies largely from reddish to dark brown and black with yellow streaks running along its length.the underside or plastron is uniformly brown in color. the face of this turtle may have yellow or orange marks and spots with the color of this marks varying form 1 sub species to another. It has 6 identified sub species in the Asian region, each having somewhat different pattern of spots on head. size may vary from 38 –45 cm in length. It is also known as Hard Shelled Batgun Terrapins

Distribution

N Bangladesh, C Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Chagos Islands and Nepal. May have been introduced to the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean.

Subspecies:

• trijuga: India
• coronata: India
• indopeninsularis: Bangladesh, India, Nepal
• parkeri: Sri Lanka
• thermalis: India, Maldives, Sri Lanka

Basking in the sun

Habitat: most active during early morning and evening it spend the day basking in the sun. it typically forages on aquatic vegetation along the edge of water bodies. it is omnivorous and it diet ranges from aquatic plants to aquatic insects and even to carcasses of dead animals.Some times many turtles can be seen alongside a carcass of a large dead mammal. the Sri Lankan subspecies spends its days in burrows during day time having a flatter carapace consequently. It inhabits a variety of water bodies including ponds, marshes streams, rivers and artificial water bodies like Rice paddies, watering holes etc. Breeding: it breeds during the wet season between August to October. During this time the male becomes particularly aggressive and starts chasing the female all the while biting her along the neck, the male attaches itself on the top of female during mating,once the mating is completed the female digs a nest in the ground or occasionally in a pile of rhinoceros or elephant dung using the left hind leg to excavate the nest and right hind leg to clear the excess material. Clutch of legs are laid into this burrow, 2-6 clutches are laid in a burrow per year. incubation period of eggs is about 60–65 days and the newborns are hatched around the summer season. Status: Classified as near threatened in IUCN red list. it is particularly threatened by hunting for its meat which is considered as delicacy and due to pet trade.

References

• Asian Turtle Trade Working Group (2000). Melanochelys trijuga. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
• Mitchell, Joseph C.;Rhodin, Anders G. J. 1996 Observations on the natural history and exploitation of the turtles of Nepal, with life history notes on Melanochelys trijuga. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 2 (1): 66-72
• Schweigger, A.F. 1812 Prodromus Monographia Cheloniorum auctore Schweigger. Königsberg. Arch. Naturwiss. Mathem., 1: 271-368, 406-458.
• Mukherjee, D., A.M.A. Nixon and S. Bhupathy. 2006 Observations on the Morphometry of two subspecies of Melanochelys trijuga from the Western Ghats, India. Turtle and Tortoise Newsletter 9, 7-9.
• http://www.arkive.org/indian-black-turtle/melanochelys-trijuga
• careforturtles.blogspot.in

External links

• Melanochelys trijuga at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database