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Young World
In the river
T.S.N. MURTHY
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It is easy to overlook the important ecological role that turtles play.
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Indian Black Turtle. Photo: T.S.N. Murhty
Easily overlooked:
We sometimes lose sigh of or ignore the existence of lesser animals like the river turtles despite their abundance and diversity. We forget the role they play ecologically and also their economic importance. Freshwater turtles inhabit rivers, lakes and ponds. These turtles are broadly grouped as “hardshells” and “softshells”.
Vultures in water
The most striking feature of he softshells is the elongation of the snout into a fleshy tube-like proboscis at the tip of which the nostrils are situated.
Hardshells are characterised by a horny shell and a retractile neck. The Indian black turtle is the commonest and most widespread hardshell. The Indian roofted turtle, so called because of its elevated tent-link carapace, is found in the Ganges, Brahmaputra and the Indus river system.
The Indian flapshelled mud turtle, so called because of the presence of a pair of fleshy flaps on the lower shell for concealing the hind feet and the tail, is found in the rivers as well as the ponds. The Ganges softshell inhabits the Ganges, Indus and Mahanadi river systems.
River turtles are often described as “vultures in water” as some species of mud turtles, in particular the Indian flapshell and the Ganges softshell, feed upon the half-burnt human corpses and animal carcasses.
Despite the fact that almost all the river turtles are protected under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972), they are on the decline because of the adverse effects of deforestation and over exploitation.
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