Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles of Nepal and Their Conservation Status

Pictorial Guide:

Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles of Nepal and Their Conservation Status

- Tapil P. Rai, 2023

Class: Reptilia    

          Family: Testudinidae

•Elongated Tortoise or Yellow-headed Tortoise          Indotestudo elongata (Blyth 1854)

Global status (The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species): Critically Endangered (CR)

Nepal Red Data Book Status: Susceptible (S)

CITES: Appendix II

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71usOGAA4Og

          Family: Geoemydidae

•Tricarinate Hill Turtle          Melanochelys tricarinata  (Blyth 1856)

Global status: Endangered (EN)

Nepal Red Data Book Status: Vulnerable (V)

CITES: Appendix I

•Bengal Black Turtle           Melanochelys trijuga  indopeninsularis (Annandale 1913)

Global status: Least Concern (LC)

Nepal Red Data Book Status: Susceptible (S)

CITES: Appendix II

•Assam Leaf Turtle          Cyclemys gemeli (Fritz, Guicking, Auer, Sommer, Wink, and Hundsdörfer 2008)

Global status: Near Threatened (NT)

CITES: Appendix II

Crowned River Turtle or Brahiminy River Turtle          Hardella thurjii  (Gray 1831)

Global status: Endangered (EN)

Nepal Red Data Book Status: Susceptible (S)

CITES: Appendix II

*•Spotted Pond Turtle or Black Pond Turtle          Geocleyms hamiltonii  (Gray 1830)

Global status: Endangered (EN)

CITES: Appendix I

https://youtu.be/WnPO6nVB9_8

# Indian Eyed Turtle          Morenia petersi  (Anderson 1879)           

Global status: Endangered (EN)

Nepal Red Data Book Status: Susceptible (S)

CITES: Appendix II

Pangshura tecta  (Gray 1830)          Indian Roofed Turtle

Global status: Vulnerable (VU)

Nepal Red Data Book Status: Susceptible (S)

CITES: Appendix I

•Yellow-bellied Tent Turtle          Pangshura tentoria flaviventer (Günther 1864)

Global status: Least Concern (LC)

CITES: Appendix II

Pink-ringed Tent Turtle          Pangshura tentoria circumdata (Mertens 1969)

Global status: Least Concern (LC)

CITES: Appendix II

Brown Roofed Turtle          Pangshura smithii smithii  (Gray 1863)

Global status: Near Threatened (NT)

Nepal Red Data Book Status: Susceptible (S)

CITES: Appendix II

Pale-footed Roofed Turtle          Pangshura smithii pallidipes (Moll 1987)

Global status: Near Threatened (NT)

Nepal Red Data Book Status: Susceptible (S)

CITES: Appendix II

*Red-crowned Roofed Turtle          Batagur kachuga (Gray 1831)

Global status: Critically Endangered (CR)

Nepal Red Data Book Status: Vulnerable (V)

CITES: Appendix I

*Three-striped Roofed Turtle          Batagur dhongoka (Gray 1832)

Global status: Critically Endangered (CR)

Nepal Red Data Book Status: Susceptible (S)

CITES: Appendix II

          Family: Trionychidae

•Spotted Northern Indian Flapshell Turtle          Lissemys punctata andersoni (Webb 1980)

Global status: Vulnerable (VU)

Nepal Red Data Book Status: Susceptible (S)

CITES: Appendix II

•Indian Peacock Softshell Turtle          Nilssonia hurum  (Gray 1830)

Global status: Endangered (EN)

Nepal Red Data Book Status: Susceptible (S)

CITES: Appendix I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsTM26YZmO0&feature=youtu.be

Indian Softshell Turtle          Nilssonia gangetica (Cuvier 1825)

Global status: Endangered (EN)

Nepal Red Data Book Status: Vulnerable (V)

CITES: Appendix I

**Black Softshell Turtle          Nilssonia nigricans (Anderson 1875)

Global status: Critically Endangered (CR)

CITES: Appendix I

Indian Narrow-headed Softshell Turtle          Chitra indica  (Gray 1830)

Global status: Endangered (EN)

Nepal Red Data Book Status: Susceptible (S)

CITES: Appendix II

Abbreviations 
IUCN        : International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
CITES  : Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

Symbols
* No proven records
# Based on an empty shell from Gainda Tal, Rupandehi in 1995 but recently confirmed by Rai and Adhikari (2021)
• This species is maintained at TRCC, Jhapa
** Recently recorded by Praschag et al. (2022) from Betana wetland, Morang District in southeast Nepal 

Acknowledgments

   - Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Society of Nepal (ARCO-Nepal)

   - Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Society of Spain (ARCO-Spain)

   - Environment Conservation Society-Nepal (ECS-Nepal)

   - Turtle Island, Austria

   - Turtle Rescue and Conservation Centre - TRCC 

   - Turtle Survival Alliance India Program

References

Aryal, P.C., Dhamala, M.K., Bhurtel, B.P., Suwal, M.K., and Rijal, B. (2010). Turtles of Nepal: A Field Guide for Species Accounts and Distribution. Environmental Graduates in Himalaya (EGH), Resources Himalaya Foundation and Companions for Amphibians and Reptiles of Nepal (CARON). Kathmandu, Nepal.

Biodiversity Profiles Project (1995). Enumeration of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Nepal. Biodiversity Profiles Project Technical Publication No. 2, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation. Government of Nepal, Kathmandu.

https://www.arco-nepal.de 

https://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php  (valid from 4 May 2023)

https://www.iucnredlist.org/Downloaded on 23 May 2023.

https://www.wikipedia.org/ 

Kästle, W., Rai, K., and Schleich, H.H. (2013). Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Nepal. ARCO-Nepal.

Kiesl, L. and Schleich, H.H. (2016) (3^rd Ed.). Amphibians and Reptiles of Nepal: Turtles, A Children’s Book. ARCO-Nepal.

Praschag, P., Rai, T.P., and Schleich, H. (2022). First record of the critically endangered Black softshell turtle, Nilssonia nigricans (ANDERSON, 1875) for Nepal. Arco-Nepal Newsletter 24: 15–22.

Rai, K.R. (2004). Environmental Impacts, Systematics and Distribution of Herpetofauna from East Nepal. Ph.D. Dissertation; Trivuwan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Rai, T.P. (2017). Conservation of endangered turtles in ‘Turtle Rescue and Conservation Centre’ at Sukhani Martyrs Memorial Park, Jhapa. Journal of Mechi Multiple Campus 6: 81-90.

Rai, T.P. and Adhikari, S. (2021). Confirmatory record of Indian Eyed Turtle from Lumbini in Nepal. Reptile Rap #207, In: Zoo's Print 36(5): 05-08.

Schleich, H.H. and Kästle, W. (eds.). (2002). Amphibians and Reptiles of Nepal: Biology, Sytematics, Field Guide. A.R.G. Ganter Verlag, Germany.

Shah, K.B. and Tiwari, S. (2004). Herpetofauna of Nepal: A Conservation Companion. IUCN Nepal, Kathmandu.

Shrestha, T.K. (2001). Herpetology of Nepal: A Study of Amphibians and Reptiles of Trans-Himalayan Region of Nepal, India, Pakistan and Bhutan. Mrs. Bimala Shrestha, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Turtle Taxonomy Working Group [Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., Bour, R., Fritz, U., Georges, A., Shaffer, H.B., Van Dijk, P.P.] (2021): Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (9th Ed.). In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., van Dijk, P.P., Stanford, C.B., Goode, E.V., Buhlmann, K.A., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs 8:1–472. doi: 10.3854/crm.8.checklist.atlas.v9.2021.

Recommended Citation

Rai, T.P. (2023) (Updated on 23 May 2023). Pictorial Guide: Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles of Nepal and Their Conservation Status. https://tapilrai.blogspot.com/2019/05/tortoises-and-freshwater-turtles-of.html 

Author Email: tapilprai19@gmail.com 

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Miscellaneous

Figure 1:  Terminology of the turtle shell 

Figure 2:  Male vs Female Indian Flapshell Turtle 

Figure 3: Life cycle of Elongated Tortoise Indotestudo elongata 

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For more information you can contact:

1.    Turtle Rescue and Conservation Centre – TRCC

TRCC was established in 2012 AD as a joint venture program of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation of Nepal (ARCO-Nepal) and Sukhani Martyrs Memorial Foundation (SUMMEF).  It lies in Arjundhara Municipality-9 of Jhapa District in Southeast Nepal.

Email: trcc.arco@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/Turtle-Rescue-and-Conservation-Centre-TRCC-543830092465859/

2.    Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Society of Nepal (ARCO-Nepal)

The conservation society ARCO-Nepal, founded 1997, is concerned with the promotion of knowledge on herpetology and conservation. Its main field of activity is to enhance the awareness on biology, systematic, and conservation of amphibians and reptiles of Nepal.

Email: arco.nepal@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/ArcoNepal/

http://www.arco-nepal.de