Leith's softshell turtle

Leith's softshell turtle (Nilssonia leithii) is a species of turtle in the family Trionychidae. The species is found in peninsular Indian rivers including the Thungabhadra, Ghataprabha, Bhavani, Godavari, Kaveri and Moyar Rivers.^[4] The type locality is Pune in India.^[5]

Leith's softshell turtle
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Trionychidae
Genus:	Nilssonia
Species:	N. leithii
Binomial name
Nilssonia leithii (Gray, 1872)[1]
Synonyms[3]
Trionyx javanicus — Gray, 1831 (part) Testudo gotaghol Buchanan-Hamilton, 1831 (nomen nudum) Aspilus gataghol — Gray, 1872 Trionyx leithii Gray, 1872 Isola leithii — Gray, 1873 Aspideretes leithii — O.P. Hay, 1904 Trionyx sulcifrons Annandale, 1915 Trionyx leithi M.A. Smith, 1931 (ex errore) Amyda leithi — Mertens, L. Müller & Rust, 1934 Aspideretes leithi — Choudhury & Bhupathy, 1993 Trionys leithii — Obst, 1996 Trionix leithi — Richard, 1999

Etymology

The specific name, leithii, is in honor of Andrew H. Leith, a physician with the Bombay Sanitary Commission.^[6]

Description

N. leithii is intermediate between N. gangetica and N. hurum. It is like the former in the width of the interorbital space, the comparatively short mandibular symphysis, and the markings of the head. It is like the latter in the longer and more pointed snout, the absence of a strong ridge on the inner alveolar surface of the mandible, and in the presence, in the young, of four or more dorsal ocelli, which are, however, smaller than in N. hurum.^[7]

Adults may attain a straight carapace length of 64 cm (25 in).^[8]

Diet

N. leithii preys on mosquito larvae, crabs, freshwater molluscs, and fish.^[4] It also sometimes feeds on small aquatic vegetation.^[8]

Reproduction

The adult female N. leithii lays eggs in June. The eggs are spherical, and the diameter of each egg is 30 to 31 mm (1.2 in).^[8]

Leith's softshell turtle (Nilssonia leithii) hatchling found in Bhor, Maharashtra

Threats

The species N. leithii is locally exploited throughout peninsular India.^[9] Other major threats are riverine development projects, aquatic pollution, sand mining, construction of hydroelectric projects, poaching, and exploitation of eggs.^[10][4]

Geographic range

Leith's softshell turtle is endemic to peninsular India^[11] in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu^[1] and Odisha^[1]