Wildlifeof India
Indian Black Turtle
Tortoises & Freshwater Turtles
Photo: (c) Suhel Quader, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY (May be cropped or resized)
Melanochelys trijuga
Basic stats
Diet
Omnivorous
Habitat
Ponds, marshes, streams, rivers and artificial water bodies such as rice paddies
Range
India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Nepal; possibly introduced to the Chagos Archipelago
Size
Shell about 15cm; body about 30cm
The Indian black turtle, or Indian pond terrapin, is a medium-sized freshwater turtle of South Asia. The shell is dark brown, green or grey, not just black, and head colour varies, with pink or yellow spots depending on the subspecies. The average shell is about 15 cm long and the whole body about 30 cm (Wikipedia, general species account).
Five subspecies are recognised, with overlapping distributions; the peninsula black turtle and the Cochin black turtle occur in India, and the Bangladesh black turtle in India and Nepal. The species lives in many kinds of water body, from still or moving water to less aquatic places, and is omnivorous. It is most active at the start or end of the day and spends much of the day basking. Two to six clutches of eggs are laid in burrows per year, and turtles sometimes gather around the carcass of a large dead animal.
Quick answers
- What does the Indian Black Turtle eat?
- Omnivorous
- What habitat does the Indian Black Turtle live in?
- Ponds, marshes, streams, rivers and artificial water bodies such as rice paddies
- Where is the Indian Black Turtle found?
- India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Nepal; possibly introduced to the Chagos Archipelago
- How big is the Indian Black Turtle?
- Shell about 15cm; body about 30cm