Nilssonia gangetica

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Cladus: Archelosauria
Division: Pan-Testudines
Division: Testudinata
Ordo: Testudines
Subordo: Cryptodira
Superfamilia: Trionychoidea

Familia: Trionychidae
Subfamilia: Trionychinae
Genus: Nilssonia
Species: Nilssonia gangetica
Name

Nilssonia gangetica (Cuvier 1825: 203)
Type locality: "du Gange," (=Ganges River), India
Syntypes: MNHN-RA 4148 and MNHN-RA 9387

Synonyms

Trionyx gangeticus Cuvier 1825: 203
Trionys hurum Gray 1831: 18 (partim)
Gymnopus duvaucelii Duméril & Bibron 1835: 487 (partim)
Tyrse javanica Gray 1844: 47 (partim)
Tyrse gangetica Gray 1844: 47 (partim)
Aspilus gataghol Gray 1872
Trionyx gangeticus Murray 1886: 10
Trionyx gangeticus mahanaddicus Annandale 1889
Isola gangeticus Baur 1893
Trionyx gangeticus Alderton 1988
Aspideretes gangeticus Ernst & Barbour 1989
Aspideretes gangeticus Gemel & Praschag 2003
Nilssonia gangetica Praschag et al. 2007
Aspideretes gangeticus Fritz & Havas 2007
Aspideretes gangeticus Rohilla & Tiwari 2008
Aspideretes gangeticus Baig et al. 2008
Aspideretes gangetica Lenz 2012
Nilssonia gangetica Liebing et al. 2012
Nilssonia gangetica TTWG 2014: 416

References

Cuvier, G.L.C.F.D. 1825. Recherches sur les ossemens fossiles de quadrupèdes, où l'on rétablit les caractères du plusieurs espèces d'animaux que les révolutions du globe paroissent avoir détruites. Dufour & d'Ocagne, Paris. ed. 3, 5 vols.
Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (van Dijk, P.P., Iverson, J.B., Rhodin, A.G.J., Shaffer, H.B. & Bour, R.) 2014. Turtles of the world, 7th edition: annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution with maps, and conservation status. Chelonian Research Monographs 5(7):000.329–479 Reference page.
Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., Bour, R., Fritz, U., Georges, A., Shaffer, H.B. & van Dijk, P.P.). 2017. Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (8th Ed.). Chelonian Research Monographs 7: 1–292. ISBN 978-1-5323-5026-9. DOI: 10.3854/crm.7.checklist.atlas.v8.2017. Paywall. Full article (PDF). Reference page.

Vernacular names
čeština: Kožnatka ganžská
Deutsch: Ganges-Weichschildkröte
English: Indian softshell turtle

The Indian softshell turtle (Nilssonia gangetica), or Ganges softshell turtle is a species of softshell turtle found in South Asia in rivers such as the Ganges, Indus and Mahanadi. This vulnerable turtle reaches a carapace length of up to 94 cm (37 in).[1] It feeds mostly on fish, amphibians, carrion and other animal matter, but also takes aquatic plants.[1] This turtle is listed in part II of Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and possession of this species is an offence.[4]
Contents

1 Description
2 Distribution
3 In culture
4 Gallery
5 References
6 External links

Description

The species is identified on the basis of the structure of the carapace and plastron. There are eight pairs of costal plates, the last well developed and in contact throughout on the median line; two neurals between the first pair of costals; plates coarsely pitted and vermiculate. Epiplastra narrowly separated from each other in front of the ontoplastron, which forms an obtuse or a right angle; plastral callosities very large, hyo-hypoplastral, xiphiplastral, and, in old specimens, ento-plastral. Dorsal skin of young with longitudinal ridges of small tubercles. Head moderate; snout (on the skull) about as long as the diameter of the orbit; interorbital region, in the adult, considerably narrower than the nasal fossa; postorbital arch one third to one half the greatest diameter of the orbit; mandible with the inner edge strongly raised, forming a sharp ridge, which sends off a short perpendicular process at the symphysis; the diameter of the mandible at the symphysis does not exceed the diameter of the orbit. Olive above; back of young vermiculated with fine black lines, but without ocelli; head with a black longitudinal streak from between the eyes to the nape, intersected by two or three inverted-V shaped black streaks; lower parts yellowish. Length of dorsal disk 2 feet.[5]
Distribution

This species is found to occur in the Indus, Ganges/Padma, Meghna, Brahmaputra, Jamuna, Narmada and Mahanadi basins and most of their tributaries and intervening drainages and in the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India (Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal), Southern Nepal and Pakistan.[6][7]
In culture

These turtles are often maintained in the temple ponds of Orissa where they are considered sacred.[8]

References

Ernst, C.H.; Altenburg, R.G.M.; and Barbour, R.W. (1997). Aspideretes gangeticus Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Turtles of the World. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
Ahmed, M.F.; Choudhury, B.C.; Das, I.; Singh, S. (2021). "Nilssonia gangetica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T39618A2930943. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T39618A2930943.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
Fritz Uwe; Peter Havaš (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 310. ISSN 1864-5755. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
"SC: Possession of 'Indian Flap Shell Turtle' not an offence under the Wildlife Protection Act [Read Judgment]". Latest Laws. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
Boulenger, G. A. 1890. Fauna of British India. Reptilia and Batrachia.
Indraneil Das (GRA, G. a. A.; Ahmed (Aaranyak), Mohammed Firoz; Choudhury, B. C.; Singh, Shailendra (13 March 2018). "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Nilssonia gangetica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
"Nilssonia gangetica (Cuvier, 1825)". Indiabiodiversity.org. Retrieved 17 November 2021.

Annandale, Nelson; Shastri, Mahamahopadhyaya Haraprasad (1914). "Relics of the worship of mud-turtles (Trionychidae) in India and Burma". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal: 131–138.

Anderson,J. 1872 Note on Trionyx gangeticus, and Trionyx hurum, B. Hamilton. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (4) 9: 382-383
Anderson,J. 1872 On Trionyx gangeticus, Cuvier, Trionyx hurum, B.H. and Dr. Gray. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (4) 10: 219-222
Cuvier, G.L.C.F.D. 1825 Recherches sur les ossemens fossiles de quadrupèdes, où l'on rétablit les caractères du plusieurs espèces d'animaux que les révolutions du globe paroissent avoir détruites. Dufour & d'Ocagne, Paris. ed. 3, 5 vols. (Parts of this 5 volume edition are cited as appearing from 1821 to 1824; volume 5 appeared in 1825. It consists mostly of articles reprinted from Annales du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. See also Cuvier 1812.)
Webb, R.G. 2004 Trionychid turtle miscellany. Hamadryad 28 (1&2): 119-121