Indian roofed turtle

Description

Length of shell up to nearly 9 inches.

Recognition

The arched, elliptical carapace (to 23 cm) is widest behind the middle and unserrated posteriorly. The medial keel is prominent with a strong spinelike posterior projection on the 3rd vertebral. Vertebrals 2 and 5 are broader than long, while 1, 3, and 4 are longer than broad. Vertebral 3 is posteriorly pointed while the 4th is anteriorly pointed, making the seam between these two scutes very short. The carapace is brown, sometimes yellow or orange bordered, with a red to orange medial stripe. The plastron is long and narrow; the forelobe is much shorter than the broad bridge, and the hindlobe is slightly shorter than the bridge and contains a posterior anal notch. The humero-pectoral seam joins the plastral seam at an obtuse angle. The plastral formula is: abd fem an pect The karyotype is 2n = 52; 20 metacentric and submetacentric, 10 subtelocentric, and 22 acrocentric and telocentric chromosomes Males are brighter in color than females, and have long, thick tails with the vent beyond the carapacial rim. Females have short tails with the vent under the carapace. Females grow larger than males.

Habitat

This is a quiet-water turtle, occurring in quiet streams, canals, oxbows, ponds, and man-made water tanks. It also occurs in brackish coastal waters. A soft bottom and abundant aquatic vegetation are preferred conditions. It loves basking in the early morning sun. Basking helps the turtle to maintain its body temperature as well as for the synthesis of Vitamin D.

Breeding

Male P. tecta develop a small tubercle at the end of the thick tail during October, just before the breeding season, and shed it in March. This tubercle may help in probing the females cloacal vent during courtship. During courtship the male swims along the females side and may also circle her. Nesting has been reported in October, December, January and February, and February and March; eggs were found in January and in March. P. tecta in Bangladesh may oviposit in two separate periods, from the beginning of December to mid-January and from mid-February to the end of March. A nest cavity 14–20 cm deep is usually dug. Clutches contain 3-14 elongated (35-45 x 21–29 mm) eggs. There are reports of clutches with a maximum of 15 ovoid (50-51 x 20–21 mm), white eggs, that tend to become bluish at hatching time. The natural incubation period lasts 70–144 days. Hatchlings have 34.1-35.2 mm carapaces and weigh 7 g; This species is omnivorous, feeding on aquatic plants, like water hyacinths and weeds, and animal prey such as crabs and snails; it also scavenges.

Distribution

Pangshura tecta inhabits the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Indus, and Mahanadi river drainages in Pakistan, northern and peninsular India, and Bangladesh.

Notes

References

• Edds, David 1998 Geographic Distribution. Kachuga tecta Herpetological Review 29 (2): 109
• Gray, J. E. 1831 Synopsis Reptilium or short descriptions of the species of reptiles. Part I: Cataphracta, tortoises, crocodiles, and enaliosaurians. Treuttel, Wurz & Co., London, 85 pp.
• Mertens, R. 1969 Eine neue Rasse der, Kachuga tecta. Senckenbergiana, Biologica. Frankfurt am Main. 50 (1/2): 23–30.

References

1. Ahmed, M.F.. (2021). "''Pangshura tecta''".
2. "Appendices {{!}} CITES".
3. Fritz Uwe. (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology.
4. Boulenger, G. A. 1890. Fauna of British India. Reptilia and Batrachia.