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
Bhavani,
Godavari, and
Moyariii Rivers. The types.... locality is
Pune in India.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''leithii'', is in honor of Andrew H. Leith, a physician with the Bombay Sanitary Commission.
Description
''Nilssonia leithii'' is intermediate between ''
Nilssonia gangetica
The Indian softshell turtle (''Nilssonia gangetica''), or Ganges softshell turtle is a species of softshell turtle found in South Asia in rivers such as the Ganges, Indus and Mahanadi. This vulnerable turtle reaches a carapace length of up to ...
'' and ''
Nilssonia hurum
Indian peacock softshell turtle (''Nilssonia hurum'') is a species of turtle found in South Asia, and is listed on the IUCN Red List as a vulnerable species.
Geographical range
The Indian peacock soft-shell turtle is found in Bangladesh, India ...
''. It is like the former in the width of the interorbital apace, 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''.
[ Boulenger GA (1890). ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia''. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (''Trionyx leithii'', p. 12).]
Adults may attain a straight
carapace
A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...
length of .
[ Das I (2002). ''Snakes and other Reptiles of India''. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. . (''Aspideretes leithii'', p. 138).]
Diet
''Nilssonia leithii''
preys
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
on mosquito larvae, crabs, freshwater molluscs, and fish. They also sometimes feed on small aquatic vegetation.
[
]
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).[
]
Geographic range
Leith's softshell turtle is endemic to peninsular India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
, Tamil Nadu
References
Further reading
* Gray JE (1872). "Notes on the Mud-Tortoises of India (''Trionyx'', Geoffroy)". ''Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Fourth Series'' 10: 326–340. (''Trionyx leithii'', new species, 334–335).
External links
*
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q304147
Nilssonia (turtle)
Reptiles of India
Endemic fauna of India
Reptiles described in 1872
Taxa named by John Edward Gray