Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 October 2020 | 12(14): 17036–17040
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6712.12.14.17036-17040
#6712 | Received 14 September 2020 | Final
received 10 October 2020 | Finally accepted 12 October 2020
A first distribution record of
the Indian Peacock Softshell Turtle Nilssonia
hurum (Gray, 1830) (Reptilia: Testudines: Trionychidae)
from Mizoram, India
Gospel Zothanmawia
Hmar 1, Lalbiakzuala 2, Lalmuansanga 3, Dadina
Zote 4, Vanlalhruaia
5,
Hmar Betlu
Ramengmawii 6, Kulendra
Chandra Das 7 & Hmar Tlawmte Lalremsanga 8
1,2,3,8 Department of Zoology, Mizoram
University, Aizawl, Mizoram 796004, India.
4 Radiology Department, Trinity
Hospital (A unit of Zotres Hospital Pvt. Ltd.), Aizawl, Mizoram 796005, India.
5 Durtlang Mual Veng, Aizawl, Mizoram 796025, India.
6,7 Department of Environmental
Science, Pachhunga University College, Aizawl,
Mizoram 796001, India.
1 goszhmar@gmail.com, 2 bzachawngthu123@gmail.com,
3 muanapunte16@gmail.com, 4 dadinaz88@gmail.com,
5 lalhruaitea96@gmail.com, 6 hbramengi@gmail.com,
7 drkulendra.das@gmail.com, 8 htlrsa@yahoo.com
(corresponding author)
Editor: Raju Vyas, Vadodara, Gujarat,
India. Date of publication: 26 October
2020 (online & print)
Citation: Hmar, G.Z., Lalbiakzuala,
Lalmuansanga, D. Zote, Vanlalhruaia, H.B. Ramengmawii,
K.C. Das & H.T. Lalremsanga
(2020). A first distribution record of
the Indian Peacock Softshell Turtle Nilssonia
hurum (Gray, 1830) (Reptilia: Testudines: Trionychidae)
from Mizoram, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(14): 17036–17040. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6712.12.14.17036-17040
Copyright: © Hmar et al. 2020. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: National Mission for
Himalayan Studies (NMHS), Uttarakhand;
Department of Biotechnology
(DBT), New Delhi; DST-SERB (EMEQ).
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: We thank the Chief Wildlife
Warden, Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of
Mizoram for the permission of herpetofaunal
collections in Mizoram (Memo No: A. 33011/2/99–CWLW/225). We acknowledged the National Mission for
Himalayan Studies (NMHS), Utarakhand, DST-SERB (EMEQ)
and Department of Biotechnology (DBT), New Delhi for financial assistance. We also appreciated Tlauliana
and Lalmuanawma for their contributions in
photographs and cooperation in the fieldworks.
The trionychid turtle species
composition remains poorly documented in Mizoram. So far, only three turtle species under this
family have been reported by previous workers.
Here, we report the occurrence of the Indian Peacock Softshell Turtle Nilssonia hurum (Gray, 1830) based on two individuals collected from Buhchangphai and Serlui, Mizoram,
India.
Chelonians are by far the most
ancient quadruped vertebrates on Earth and are widely distributed in India (Das
1985, 1995, 2002). Having one of the
most diverse chelonian fauna in the world, India is currently inhabited by 30
species of freshwater turtles and tortoises and six marine turtles (Ahmed et
al. 2009; Das & Gupta 2015) including the recent record of Manouria impressa
by Mital et al. (2019). Eight species of turtles belonging to the
family Trionychidae (Reptilia:
Chelonia) are known to occur in the country, viz., Nilssonia gangetica,
N. hurum, N. leithii,
N. nigricans, Chitra indica, Amyda cartilaginea,
Pelochelys cantorii,
and Lissemys punctata
which comprises three subspecies—L. punctata punctata, L. punctata andersonii, and L. punctata
vittata (Das 1990, 1996; Bhupathy
et al. 1992; Frazier & Das 1994; Choudhury 1995; Datta
1998; Sengupta et al. 2000; Pawar & Choudhury
2000; Praschag & Gemel
2002; Praschag et al. 2011). Till date, little is known about the
distribution pattern and the actual species composition of trionychid turtles
in Mizoram State, however, three distinct species are currently known to occur,
namely, L. punctata, P. cantorii
(Matthew 2007), and A. cartilaginea (Pawar &
Choudhury 2000; Hmar et al. 2020).
The conservation status of N. hurum is presently listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red
List (Das et al. 2010), Appendix I in CITES, and is also categorized as
Schedule I under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 in India (Das & Gupta
2011). In India, it was first reported
by Annandale (1912a) from Puri, Orissa (Odhisha). It is
commonly known as the Indian Peacock Softshell Turtle, widely distributed in
the northern and central parts of the Indian sub-continent; at tributaries of
the rivers Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Subarnarekha (Smith 1931; Moll &
Vijaya 1986). It was also reported from
isolated water bodies of Maharashtra (Varghese & Tonapi
1986), Madhya Pradesh (Das 1987), Rajasthan (Bhupathy
& Kumar 1988), Uttar Pradesh (Pai & Basu 1988), and Manipur (Singh 1995). There are records of N. hurum from several protected areas in the country such
as the Pakhui Wildlife Sanctuary (Arunachal Pradesh),
Mupa-Lanteng Reserve Forest (Assam), Bherihari Wildlife Sanctuary (Bihar), Hastinapur Wildlife
Sanctuary and Sarnath Turtle Sanctuary (Uttar
Pradesh), National Chambal Sanctuary (Madhya Pradesh), Keoladeo
National Park (Rajasthan) (Rao 2001), Patbausai and Sundaridia (Assam) (Das & Saikia
2007), Kamakhya (Assam) (Purkayastha
et al. 2013), Kaziranga National Park (Assam) (Basumatary & Sharma 2013), and Van Vihar
National Park (Madhya Pradesh) (Manhas et al.
2018). Outside India, its distribution
ranges include eastern Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal (Mertens 1969; Das 1989;
Mitchell & Rhodin 1996; Schleich
& Kastle 2002; Noureen et al. 2008). In this paper, we report two individuals,
male and female of Nilssonia hurum from Kolasib District
which represents the first record for Mizoram State, northeastern
India.
While surveying the chelonian
diversity in different drainages of Kolasib District
(24°–24.25° N & 93.5°–92.75° E), Mizoram, the first individual of the adult
freshwater turtle was encountered and collected from Serlui
drainage (24.237°N and 92.745°E; 94m), near Builum
Village at around 10.30h on 27 June 2020, (Image 1). The specimen was found basking on a wooden
log on the bank of a small island in the Serlui B
Dam. The collection site is covered by a
secondary forest type, dominated by different species of trees like Gmelina arborea, Tectona grandis, Ficus semicordata, Michelia champaca, Bischofia javanica,
and bamboo species like Meloccanna baccifera and Dendrocalamus
hamiltoni.
The second individual was sighted on 23 July 2020 from a fish
pond (24.324°N & 92.657°E; 52m), near Chhimluang
River, Buhchangphai Village located ca. 11km to the
west from the first collection site (Image 2).
It was found burrowed in mud beneath the roots of F. semicordata on the banks of a fish pond at around
01.40h. The surrounding vegetation was
mostly dominated by T. grandis, F. semicordata, Artocarpus
heterophyllus, M. champaca,
Duabanga grandiflora, and a
species of bamboo like – M. baccifera, D. hamiltonii and Bambusa
tulda.
The two individuals were
identified as the Indian Peacock Softshell Turtle Nilssonia
hurum based on the identification key provided by
Annandale (1912b), Rashid & Swingland (1997), Praschag et al. (2007), and Das et al. (2010). According to Das et al. (2010), the sex of
the first individual was identified as a female due to its short tail and
cloaca positioned close to the base of the tail and the second one as a male as
the tail is thick, long and edgeless; also, the cloaca positioned close to the
tip of the tail. After morphometric
measurements were taken with the help of a measuring tape nearest to 1mm, both
individuals were handed over to the field staff to be released into the natural
habitat with the permission issued by the Chief Wildlife Warden, Department of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of Mizoram. Details of both individuals are given in
Table 1. The individuals have a large
head and snout strongly turned down; the head and limbs are olive-green;
forehead with dark reticulations and large yellow or orange patches or spots,
especially behind the eyes and across the snout, that are larger than those in
its sister species, N. nigricans; carapace low and oval, dark olive
green to nearly black sometimes with a yellow rim and the anterior edge has
blunt tubercles. The juveniles have four
striking, orange ringed dark-centered ocelli that are
subequal and symmetrically positioned on an olive green carapace with dark
reticulation; the markings becoming obscured with growth. The plastron is dark in juveniles, turning
light grey in adults. Males possess
relatively longer and thicker tails than females, with the cloaca situated
close to the tail-tip. No sexual
dimorphism in shell colour or patterns or size has been reported (Das et al.
2010).
Das et al. (2010) reported that
the Indian Peacock Softshell Turtle utilizes rivers, lakes, and ponds, from the
upper reaches of the rivers, to the lowest, while apparently avoiding the
saline river mouths. Its ability to
burrow into the mud may be associated with its ability to inhabit ponds and
other lentic environments that may dry up during the dry season. Adults were observed to utilize deeper
sections of the river, while yearlings appear to stay in the shallower parts. Rashid & Swingland
(1997) mentioned that the species migrates from drying ponds, and are known to
bask on the surface of the water.
The vegetation of the present
surveyed area falls under the tropical wet evergreen forest and tropical
semi-evergreen forest associated with moist deciduous forest corresponding to
the Cachar tropical evergreen 1B/C3 and semievergreen 2B/C2 forest (Champion & Seth 1968) (Fig
1). The average annual rainfall of Kolasib District is 2,703mm and temperature ranges
23°C–35°C (NIC 2020). The closest
published locality record for this species is in Rukri
River, Hawaithai, Cachar
District, Assam (24.5°N & 92.8° E) (Das & Gupta 2011), which is
approximately 29.9km from the first distribution record and 24.9km from the
latter to the south. Being the
components of Barak drainage system, the three collection sites, Chhimluang, Serlui, and Rukri rivers join later in Assam that suggested the
possibility of dispersal in between these two states. Due to construction of Serlui
B Dam for hydroelectric power in 2006 that was completed in 2009, the dam creates
a reservoir catchment area of ca. 53km2 that drastically altered the
natural habitat of these valuable species.
Moreover, it had been reported that turtles and tortoises in these areas
are commonly hunted for meat and trade by the local people and we suggest that
a proper assessment on their conservation measures needs to be initiated.
Table 1. Morphometric measurement
of the observed Nilssonia hurum from Mizoram, India.
|
Sex |
Morphometric
measurement (in mm) |
Weight (in
kg) |
|||
Carapace
length |
Carapace
width |
Plastron
length |
Plastron
width |
|||
1 |
Male |
270 |
185 |
250 |
180 |
3.16 |
2 |
Female |
390 |
315 |
310 |
325 |
7.17 |
For
figure & images - - click here
References
Ahmed, M.F.,
A. Das & S.K. Dutta (2009). Amphibians and Reptiles of northeast India - A
Photographic Guide. Aaranyak, Guwahati, India,
xiv+168pp.
Annandale, N.
(1912a). The aquatic Chelonia of the Mahanadi and its tributaries. Records of
the Indian Museum 7: 261–266.
Annandale, N.
(1912b). The Indian
mud–turtles (Trionychidae). Records of the Indian
Museum 7: 151–179.
Basumatary, R. & D.K. Sharma (2013). The turtle fauna of Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India with notes on natural
history and conservation status. Herpetology Notes 6: 59–72.
Bhupathy, S. & C.R.A. Kumar (1988). On the identity and occurrence
of the Peacock Soft Shell (Trionyx hurum) in Rajasthan. Journal of the Bombay Natural
History Society 85: 624.
Bhupathy, S., B.C. Choudhury & M.O.
Moll (1992). Conservation
and management of Fresh Water Turtles and Land Tortoises of India. Technical
Report, May 1991–July 1992. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.
Champion,
S.H.G. & S.K. Seth (1968). A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India. The Manager of Publicaton, Govt. of India, New Delhi, 404pp.
Choudhury, A.
(1995). Turtles
recorded in Dibru Saikhowa
Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam. Journal of Ecological Society 8: 3–39.
Das, I.
(1985). Indian
Turtles: A field guide. World Wildlife Fund-India, Oxford University Press, Calcutta, India,
11pp.
Das, I.
(1987). New locality
record for the Indian Peacock Softshell Turtle Trionyx
hurum. Journal of the Bombay Natural History
Society 84: 691–692.
Das, I.
(1989). Report of a
survey of freshwater turtles and land tortoises in Bangladesh. Report to the
Fauna and Flora Preservation Society, London, 10pp.
Das, I.
(1990).
Distributional Records for the Chelonian from north-eastern India. Journal
of the Bombay Natural History Society 87: 91–97.
Das, I.
(1995). Turtles and
Tortoise of India. WWF-India, Oxford University Press, Bombay, 176pp.
Das, I.
(1996). Biogeography
of the Reptiles of South Asia. Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida, 87pp.
Das, I.
(2002). A
Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of India. New Holland
Publishers Ltd., London, 144pp.
Das, D. &
P.K. Saikia (2007). Present status of Soft Shell
Turtles (Family: Trionychidae) in Barpeta
and its surrounding areas, Barpeta, Assam. Reptile
Rap 8: 3–4.
Das, I., D. Basu & S. Singh (2010). Nilssonia hurum (Gray,
1830) – Indian Peacock Softshell Turtle. In: Rhodin,
A.G.J., P.C.H. Pritchard, P.P. van Dijk, R.A. Saumure,
K.A. Buhlmann, J.B. Iverson & R.A. Mittermeier
(Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A
Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist
Group. Chelonian Monographs No.5, pp. 048.1–048.6. https://doi.org/10.3854/crm.5.048.hurum.v1.2010
Das, K.C.
& A. Gupta (2011). Site records of softshell turtles (Chelonia: Trionychidae) from Barak Valley, Assam, northeastern
India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(4): 1722–1726. https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2487.1722-6
Das, K.C.
& A. Gupta (2015). New distribution records of tortoises (Chelonia:
Testudinidae) from Barak Valley, Assam, northeastern India with notes on ecology and vernacular traditonal taxonomy. Journal of Threatened Taxa 7(3):
7017–7023. https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT. o3623.7017–23
Datta, A. (1998). Records of turtles from Pakhui Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India. Journal of the Bombay Natural
History Society 95: 121–123.
Frazier, J.G.
& I. Das (1994). Some notable records of testudines from the Indian and Burmese subregions. Hamadryad 19:
47–66.
Hmar, G.Z., Lalmuansanga, Lalbiakzuala, H.T. Lalremsanga & V.L. Mawia
(2020). New
geographical distribution of Asiatic Softshell Turtle from Mizoram, India. Reptile
Rap #199, In: Zoo’s Print 35(5): 107–110.
Manhas, A., R. Raina & A. Wanganeo (2018). Reptilian diversity of the
Bhopal region in the State of Madhya Pradesh in central India. IRCF Reptiles
& Amphibians 25(2): 104–114.
Matthew, R.
(2007). Reptilia, pp. 545–577. In: The Director (eds.). Fauna of Mizoram, State Fauna
Series, 14. Published by Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, v+691pp.
Mertens, R.
(1969). Die Amphibien und Reptilien West-Pakistans. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde
197: 1–96.
Mital, A., B. Tao & A. Das (2019). Manouria
impressa (Impressed Tortoise). Herpetological
Review 50: 523.
Mitchell,
J.C. & A.G.J. Rhodin (1996). Observations on the natural
history and exploitation of the turtles of Nepal, with life history notes on Melanochelys trijuga.
Chelonian Conservation and Biology 2: 66–72.
Moll, E.O.
& J. Vijaya (1986). A status survey of freshwater turtle resources in India (September
1982–June 1983) with recommendations for management. Report to the American
Institute for Indian Studies, New Delhi, 26pp.
NIC (2020). National Informatics Centre,
Ministry of Electronics & Information technology, Govt. of India. https://kolasib.nic.in/about-district/.
Accessed on 14 September 2020.
Noureen, U., T.G. Braulik,
M. Arshad & H.N. Khan (2008). Illegal trade in freshwater turtle parts: preliminary
findings of turtle trade in major barrages and head–works of Punjab. Report to
the Ministry of Environment’s Pakistan Wetlands Programme, 28pp.
Pai, A. & D. Basu
(1988). Turtles of
an ancient pilgrimage tank in north India with notes on the distribution of the
Peacock Soft-shell Turtle (Trionyx hurum). Hamadryad 13:
12–15.
Pawar, S.S. & B.C. Choudhury
(2000). An inventory
of Chelonians from Mizoram, northeastern India: new
records and some observations of threats. Hamadryad
25(2): 144–158.
Praschag, P. & R. Gemel
(2002). Identity of
the black soft-shell turtle Aspideretes
nigricans (Anderson, 1875), with remarks on related species (Reptilia: Testudines: Trionychidae).
Faunistische Abhandlungen
Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde Dresden 23(5): 87–116.
Praschag, P., A.K. Hundsdörfer,
A.H.M.A. Reza & U. Fritz (2007). Genetic evidence for wild-living
Aspideretes nigricans and a molecular
phylogeny of South Asian softshell turtles (Reptilia:
Trionychidae: Aspideretes,
Nilssonia). Zoologica
Scripta 36(4): 301–310.
Praschag, P., H. Stuckas,
M. Paeckert, J. Maran & U. Fritz (2011). Mitochondrial DNA sequences
suggest a revised taxonomy of Asian flapshell turtles
(Lissemys Smith, 1931) and the validity of
previously unrecognized taxa (Testudines: Trionychidae).
Vertebrate Zoology 61(1): 147–60.
Purkayastha, J., A.M. Hassan, H. Islam, J.
Das, M. Sarma, M. Basumatary,
N. Sarma, N. Chatterjee, S. Singha, V. Nair, A. Purkayastha, J. Dutta & M. Das (2013). Turtles of the Temple Pond of Kamakhya, Assam, India. Reptile Rap #15: 11–15
Rao, R.J.
(2001). Biological
resources of the Ganga River, India. Hydrobiologia
458: 159–168. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013173204091
Rashid,
S.M.A. & I.R. Swingland (1997). On the ecology of some
freshwater turtles in Bangladesh, pp. 225–242. In: Abbema
J.V. (ed.). Proceedings: Conservation, Restoration, and Management of
Tortoises and Turtles—An International Conference. New York Turtle and
Tortoise Society, USA.
Schleich, H.H. & W. Kästle (2002). Order Chelonia/Testudines
(turtles: terrapins and tortoises), pp. 501–573. In: Schleich,
H.H. & W. Kästle (eds.). Amphibians and
Reptiles of Nepal. Biology, Systematics, Field Guide. Königstein:
Koeltz Scientifc Books,
1211pp.
Sengupta, S.,
N.K. Choudhury, N. Barua, S. Saikia
& B. Hussain (2000). Turtle fauna of Kamrup District, Assam. India.
Tropical Zoology 1(1): 138–142.
Singh, K.S.
(1995). On a
collection of reptiles and amphibians of Manipur. Geobios News Reports
14: 135–145.
Smith, M.A.
(1931). The Fauna of
British India, Ceylon and Burma: Amphibia and Reptilia.
Vol. I-Loricata, Testudines. Taylor and Francis Ltd.,
London, 185pp.
Varghese, G. & G.T. Tonapi (1986). Observations on the identity of some Indian
freshwater turtles and their feeding habits. Biological Conservation 37:
87–92.