Spotted Pond Turtle

Why in news?

• Three persons engaged as mahouts in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve have been arrested for capturing and consuming a rare species of a freshwater turtle- Spotted Pond Turtle.

About Spotted Pond Turtle:

• Spotted Pond Turtle is commonly known as Black Pond Turtle, Black Spotted Turtle, Hamilton’s Terrapin
• The species is found in north and north-eastern Indian subcontinent primarily in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
• It is found in the Indus and Ganga river drainage, from Pakistan to Bangladesh and also in northeast India.
• It is also reported to be found in Gomti and Girwa rivers in Uttar Pradesh, Aravalli foothills and Gandak Dam in Bihar.

Conservation Status:

• IUCN : Endangered
• Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
• CITES : Appendix I

Characteristics, Habitat and Behaviour:

• Black spotted turtles are black in colour with yellowish streaks or spots and wedge-shaped marks.
• Their head is black with yellow spots and is extremely large, short-snouted.
• The neck is greyish and has white spots. The skin at the backside of the forehead of this species is divided into shields.
• They are freshwater turtles found in lentic water bodies.
• They are mainly carnivorous and feed on snails and insect larvae, however, vegetative material has also been found in some of the digestive tracts.

Major Threats:

• Habitat loss due to land fillings and conversion of the lentic water bodies into agricultural land such as rice fields and for human settlements.
• The species is subjected to commercial exploitation for meat consumption.

PRACTICE QUESTION

With reference to ‘Spotted Pond Turtle’, consider the following statements:

1. They are freshwater turtles found in lentic water bodies.

2. They are mainly carnivorous

3. They are restricted to Ganga river basin

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

Answer