Indian flapshell turtle

Indian flapshell turtle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Trionychidae
Genus:	Lissemys
Species:	L. punctata
Binomial name
Lissemys punctata (Lacépède, 1788)
Synonyms
Lissemys punctata punctata Testudo punctata Lacépède, 1788 Testudo granulosa Suckow, 1798 Testudo scabra Latreille, 1801 Testudo granosa Schoepff, 1801 Testudo granulata Daudin, 1801 Trionyx coromandelicus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809 Trionyx granosus Schweigger, 1812 Trionyx (Emyda) punctatus Gray, 1831 Emyda punctata Gray, 1831 Trionyx punctata Gray, 1832 Cryptopus granosus Duméril & Bibron, 1835 Emyda vittata Peters, 1854 Emyda ceylonensis Gray, 1856 Emyda granosa Strauch, 1862 Emyda dura Anderson, 1876 (nomen nudum) Emyda [granosa] granosa Siebenrock, 1909 Emyda granosa ceylonensis Annandale, 1912 Emyda granosa intermedia Annandale, 1912 Lissemys punctata punctata Smith, 1931 Lissemys punctata granosa Smith, 1931 Trionyx punctatus granosus Mertens, Müller & Rust, 1934 Trionyx punctatus punctatus Mertens, Müller & Rust, 1934 Lissemys punctata garnosa Rhodes & Dadd, 1968 (ex errore) Lissemys punctata andersoni Lissemys punctata andersoni Webb, 1980 Lissemys punctata andersonii Artner, 2003 (ex errore) Lissemys andersoni Joseph-Ouni, 2004

The Indian flapshell turtle (Lissemys punctata) is a freshwater species of turtle found in South Asia. 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 unclear what protection the flaps offer against predators. Indian flapshell turtles are widespread and common in the South Asian provinces.

The carapace of L. punctata viewed from above is broadly oval in adults, but more circular in young, widest just anterior to hind limbs. The width of the disc is 77-86% of its length, the carapace is moderately arched, shell height is 35.0-40.5% of carapace length, the margin of the carapace is smooth and slightly flared posteriorly, the marginal bones are not united with the pleurals, the plastron is large but mostly cartilaginous, and its length is 88-97% of the carapace length. A pair of large flaps can be closed over the hind limbs and a smaller flap over tail; seven plastral callosities are present, and the head is large, its width is 21-25% of the carapace width. The proboscis is short and stout; the nasal septum has no lateral ridge, the edges of the jaws are smooth, the alveolar surfaces are expanded and granular. The claws are large and heavy; the penis is thick and oval, with deep dorsal cleft and four pointed, soft papillae; the tail is very short in both sexes.

The carapace length of L. punctata has been known to range from 240 to 370 mm in length.

The Indian flapshell turtle was placed in Appendix II of CITES in 1975 at the request of Bangladesh. However, L. p. punctata was the taxon listed, not L. p. andersoni. Subsequent reviews of the literature and available data could find no evidence to support this endangered status. Some scientists now classify L. p. punctata and L. p. andersoni as a single subspecies. This subspecies is the most common aquatic turtle in India. Consequently, the Indian flapshell turtle was removed from the endangered species list in 1983 (48 FR 52740). This action, however, did not affect the turtle's status on Appendix II of CITES.

The Indian flapshell turtle is found in Pakistan, India (common in lakes and rivers), Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh (Indus and Ganges drainages), and Burma (Irrawaddy and Salween Rivers). It has been introduced to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is also found in the desert ponds of Rajasthan, where hundreds are killed every year during the dry summers. The race L. p. andersoni is found in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.

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