Indian pond terrapin
The Indian black turtle (Melanochelys trijuga) is a medium-sized freshwater turtle found in South Asia.
The color of this species' upper shell or carapace can vary 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 color varying between subspecies.
These turtles are found in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal, and the Chagos Archipelago, where they may have been introduced. Indian black turtles live in ponds, marshes streams, rivers, and artificial water bodies like rice-paddies, watering holes etc.
Indian black turtles are semi-aquatic. They are most active during early morning and evening, spending most of the day basking in the sun. They like to bask on banks of water bodies, tree trunks, or on land. The Sri Lankan subspecies usually spend the day in burrows. These turtles usually forage along the edge of the water and may sometimes be seen to aggregate alongside the carcass of a large dead animal.
Indian black turtles are omnivorous. Their diet includes various aquatic plants, aquatic insects, and even carrion.
Indian black turtles breed during the wet season, between August and October. During this time the male becomes particularly aggressive and starts chasing the female, biting her on the neck. After mating, the female digs a nest in the ground or occasionally in a pile of rhinoceros or elephant dung; when building the nest, the female uses the left hind leg to excavate the nest and the right hind leg to clear the excess material. She lays 2-6 individual clutches which contain 1 to 4 eggs in burrows per year. Eggs are incubated for 60-65 days and hatch during summer.
Indian black turtles are not considered threatened in general. However, in some areas of their native range, they suffer from hunting for consumption, egg collection, and the pet trade.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Indian black turtle total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List but its numbers today are decreasing.
