Indian black turtle

The Indian black turtle (Melanochelys trijuga) or Indian pond terrapin is a species of medium-sized freshwater turtle found in South Asia.

Indian black turtle
Melanochelys trijuga
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Geoemydidae
Genus:	Melanochelys
Species:	M. trijuga
Binomial name
Melanochelys trijuga (Schweigger, 1812)
Synonyms[3]
click to expand 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) Emys trijuga var. coronata Anderson, 1879 Nicoria trijuga var. coronata Bruner, 1908 Geoemyda trijuga coronata Siebenrock, 1909 Melanochelys trijuga coronata Pritchard, 1979 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 Geoemyda indopeninsularis Annandale, 1913 Geoemyda trijuga indopeninsularis Smith, 1931 Melanochelys trijuga indopeninsularis Deraniyagala, 1939 Melanochelys edeniana indopeninsularis Bour, 2002 Melanochelys trijuga parkeri Deraniyagala, 1939 Geoemyda trijuga parkeri Mertens & Wermuth, 1955 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

Description

Their shell is a typically made up of shades of dark brown, green, or grey, not just black.^[4] Their heads feature even more variation in color, as different subspecies may have pink or yellow spots. Melanochelys trijuga coronata has a yellow spot on the head, while M. t. trijuga and M. t. indopeninsularis have different pink spots.^[5] The average shell is about 6 inches long, while the entire body is usually about one foot.^[4]

Distribution and habitat

The species occurs in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal, and the Chagos Archipelago, where it may have been introduced. There are five recognized subspecies with overlapping distributions:

• M. t. trijuga: peninsula black turtle, India
• M. t. coronata: Cochin black turtle, India
• M. t. indopeninsularis: Bangladesh black turtle, India, Nepal
• M. t. parkeri: Sri Lanka
• M. t. thermalis: Sri Lanka black turtle, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka

The Indian black turtle inhabits a variety of water bodies including ponds, marshes streams, rivers and artificial water bodies like rice-paddies, watering holes etc.^[6]

• 
  M. t. coronata
  Chambal River, Uttar Pradesh, India
• 
  M. t. thermalis
  Kandy, Sri Lanka

Ecology

In Nagarhole National Park

The species is typically most energetic at the beginning or end of the day, spending most of the day basking in the sun. The Sri Lankan subspecies, on the other hand, tends to spend the day living in or below the ground.^[7] The species utilizes many different aquatic areas as habitats. They may live in areas that are completely aquatic, either in still or moving water. Others can still live in less aquatic areas.^[8] It is omnivorous, and feeds on many different plants near water, small animals, and animal waste.^[9] Indian black turtles may sometimes be seen to aggregate alongside the carcass of a large dead animal.

Breeding

The Indian black turtle reproduces during the long summer days of monsoon season in July and August. They prepare to mate in the spring and during the shorter, winter days their bodies struggle and lose the ability to reproduce.^[10] During this time the male becomes particularly aggressive and starts chasing the female, biting her on the neck. The male attaches itself to the top of the female during mating. Once 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. Two to six individual clutches of eggs are laid in burrows per year.^[6]

Conservation

The endangerment of the species varies throughout their region of inhabitance but is extremely high in parts, making them like most other soft-shelled turtles. A majority of turtles within the region are at least considered endangered. They are hunted in order to be eaten and traded, but despite government urgency, little action is taken. ^[11] They fall at risk because they take many years to reach adulthood, and once they do, they do not reproduce at a high rate.^[11] There are many separate generational turtle catching business, even though most know it is illegal and have been caught but are not subject to a high-level punishment.^[11]