Black pond turtle

For the Southeast Asian turtle also known as the 'black pond turtle', see Black marsh turtle.

Black pond turtle
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Family:	Geoemydidae
Genus:	Geoclemys
Species:	G. hamiltonii
Binomial name
Geoclemys hamiltonii (Gray, 1831)

The black pond turtle (Geoclemys hamiltonii), also known as the spotted pond turtle, is a species of turtle found in South Asia. It is also known as the Indian spotted turtle. It belongs to the monotypic genus Geoclemys.

Description

This turtle is mainly black with small yellowish spots. The black pond turtle has a much elevated carapace, with three interrupted keels or series of nodose prominences corresponding to the vertebral and costal shields. Its posterior border is strongly serrated in young, but feebly in the adult; nuchal moderate, broader posteriorly than anteriorly; first vertebral not or scarcely broader anteriorly than posteriorly; second and third vertebrals broader than long in the young, nearly as long as broad in the adult, narrower than the costals. Plastron large, angulate laterally, truncate anteriorly; posterior lobe much narrower than the opening of the shell, nearly as long as tho width of the bridge, deeply notched posteriorly. Head rather large; snout very short, not projecting. Its upper jaw emarginate mesially. The width of the mandible of Geoclemys hamiltonii at the symphysis nearly equals the horizontal diameter of the orbit. A large shield, sometimes divided into three, covers the upper surface of the snout and the crown; one shield round the upper jaw and one on each side between the eye and the ear. Digits webbed to the claws. Tail extremely short. Shell dark brown or blackish, elegantly marked with yellow spots and radiating streaks. Soft parts dark brown or blackish, with round yellow spots, largest on the head and neck.

Distribution

Southern Pakistan (Indus and Ganges river drainages), north-eastern India (Assam) and Bangladesh.

References

• Template:IUCN2006 Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is vulnerable and the criteria used
• Khan, Moh. A.R. 1982 Chelonians of Bangladesh and their conservation. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 79 (1): 110-116.
• Murray, J. A. 1884 Additions to the reptilian fauna of Sind. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (5)14:106-111.
• Philippen, H.-D. 2004 Geoclemys hamiltonii (Gray 1831) - Strahlen-Dreikielschildkröte. Reptilia (Münster) 9 (5): 51-54

External links

• Geoclemys hamiltonii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database