FLAPSHELL TURTLES

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

Important points:

  • 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.
  • 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.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT

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