Indian black turtle

M. t. coronata, Chambal River, Uttar Pradesh, India

Despite its name, the color of its upper shell or carapace can vary from reddish to dark brown and black with yellow streaks running along its length. The underside or plastron is uniformly brown in color. The face of this turtle may have yellow or orange marks and spots, with color varying between subspecies. The size of the species may vary from 38 to 45 cm.[3]

The species occurs in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal, and the Chagos Archipelago, where it may have been introduced. There are five recognized subspecies with overlapping distributions:

• M. t. trijuga: peninsula black turtle, India
• M. t. coronata: Cochin black turtle, India
• M. t. indopeninsularis: Bangladesh black turtle, India, Nepal
• M. t. parkeri: Sri Lanka
• M. t. thermalis: Sri Lanka black turtle, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka

The Indian black turtle inhabits a variety of water bodies including ponds, marshes streams, rivers and artificial water bodies like rice-paddies, watering holes etc.[3]

In Nagarhole National Park

The species is most active during early morning and evening, spending most of the day basking in the sun. The Sri Lankan subspecies, which has a flatter carapace, tends to spend the day in burrows. The species typically forages on aquatic vegetation along the edge of the water. It is omnivorous, with a diet ranging from aquatic plants to aquatic insects and carrion. Indian black turtles may sometimes be seen to aggregate alongside the carcass of a large dead animal.[3]

The species is classified as least concern by the IUCN. M. t. indopeninsularis is considered threatened in Bangladesh, while the population in Myanmar (M. t. edeniana) is thought to be vulnerable or endangered. The species appears still to be common in India and Nepal, and is thus overall considered reasonably secure.[4] Where it is under pressure, this is mostly due to hunting for consumption and the pet trade.

• Mitchell, Joseph C.; Rhodin, Anders G. J. (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 (1): 66–72.
• Schweigger, A.F. (1812). "Prodromus Monographia Cheloniorum auctore Schweigger". Arch. Naturwiss. Mathem. 1: 271–368, 406–458.
• Mukherjee, D.; Nixon, A.M.A.; Bhupathy, S. (2006). "Observations on the Morphometry of two subspecies of Melanochelys trijuga from the Western Ghats, India". Turtle and Tortoise Newsletter. 9: 7–9.