Loading AI tools
Species of reptile From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leith's softshell turtle (Nilssonia leithii) is a species of turtle in the family Trionychidae. The species is found in peninsular Indian rivers including the Thungabhadra, Ghataprabha, Bhavani, Godavari, Kaveri and Moyar Rivers.[4] The type locality is Pune in India.[5]
Leith's softshell turtle | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Cryptodira |
Family: | Trionychidae |
Genus: | Nilssonia |
Species: | N. leithii |
Binomial name | |
Nilssonia leithii | |
Synonyms[3] | |
|
The specific name, leithii, is in honor of Andrew H. Leith, a physician with the Bombay Sanitary Commission.[6]
Nilssonia leithii is intermediate between Nilssonia gangetica and Nilssonia hurum. It is like the former in the width of the interorbital apace, the comparatively short mandibular symphysis, and the markings of the head. It is like the latter in the longer and more pointed snout, the absence of a strong ridge on the inner alveolar surface of the mandible, and in the presence, in the young, of four or more dorsal ocelli, which are, however, smaller than in N. hurum.[7]
Adults may attain a straight carapace length of 64 cm (25 in).[8]
Nilssonia leithii preys on mosquito larvae, crabs, freshwater molluscs, and fish.[4] They also sometimes feed on small aquatic vegetation.[8]
The adult female N. leithii lays eggs in June. The eggs are spherical, and the diameter of each egg is 30 to 31 mm (1.2 in).[8]
This species is locally exploited throughout peninsular India.[9] Other major threats are riverine development projects, aquatic pollution, sand mining, construction of hydroelectric projects, poaching, exploitation of eggs,.[10][4]
Leith's softshell turtle is endemic to peninsular India[11] in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu[1] and Odisha[1]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.