Indian Flapshell Turtles

• 06 Nov 2021

Why in News

Recently, forest officials from Odisha found 40 Indian flapshell turtles in baskets in an alleged smuggling racket.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • The Indian flapshell turtle is a freshwater species of turtle and is found in many states.
    
    • The “flap-shelled” name stems from the presence of femoral flaps located on the plastron. These flaps of skin cover the limbs when they retract into the shell.
    • It is a relatively small soft-shell turtle with a carapace length of up to 350 millimetres.
  • Scientific Name: Lissemys punctata
• Distribution:
  
  • They are found in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh (Indus and Ganges drainages), and Myanmar (Irrawaddy and Salween Rivers).
  • They live in the shallow, quiet, often stagnant waters of rivers, streams, marshes, ponds, lakes and irrigation canals, and tanks.
  • These turtles prefer waters with sand or mud bottoms because of their tendency to burrow.
• Conservation Status:
  
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
  • CITES: Appendix II
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
• Threats:
  
  • Turtles are smuggled and killed for their supposed aphrodisiac properties, livestock feed, to make leather from their skins, to make potions from their blood and to use as fishing bait.
  • Turtles are also used for meat and medicines.
• Steps Taken for Conservation:
  
  • KURMA App:
    
    • It has a built-in digital field guide covering 29 species of freshwater turtles and tortoises of India.
    • It was developed by the Indian Turtle Conservation Action Network (ITCAN) in collaboration with the Turtle Survival Alliance-India and Wildlife Conservation Society-India.
  • World Turtle Day is observed every year on 23^rd May.

Source: DTE