Roofed Turtles of India

Leaf Turtles of India: There are 6 species of Roofed Turtles found in India, the state-wise details are as follows,
Assam – Assam Roofed Turtle, Three Striped Roofed Turtle
Bihar - Three Striped Roofed Turtle
Madhya Pradesh - Three Striped Roofed Turtle
Rajasthan - Three Striped Roofed Turtle
Uttar Pradesh - Three Striped Roofed Turtle
West Bengal - Three Striped Roofed Turtle
North India – Brown Roofed Turtle, Indian Roofed Turtle, Indian Tent Turtle
North East India - Assam Roofed Turtle, Brown Roofed Turtle, Red Crowned Roofed Turtle
North West India - Brown Roofed Turtle
Central India - Indian Tent Turtle
Peninsular India - Indian Roofed Turtle

6 species of roofed turtles are found in India

Assam Roofed Turtle also known as Sylhet roofed turtle is endangered found in Assam and North East India. They have a triangular and elevated carapace with a prominent spiked keel and 26 strongly serrated marginal plates. Uppershell (Carapace) is olive brown, with a lighter (yellowish to beige) keel. Head is small and has a weakly hooked upper jaw; a narrow pink stripe runs from the back of each eye to the middle of the back of the head.

Brown Roofed Turtle is Near Threatened found in North, North West and North East India, especially in Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra rivers. Their colour is pale olive-brown above, and the dorsal keel is usually blackish. Plastral shields and the lower surface of the marginals are dark brown, bordered with yellow. Carapace is much depressed and feebly keeled.

Indian Roofed Turtle is distinguished by a distinct "roof" at the topmost part of the shell found in Northern and Peninsular India. Head is blackish; jaws and sides of crown is orange; neck has numerous yellow lines on a blackish ground; limbs are dark olive, spotted with yellow.

Indian Tent Turtle is a unique crawling turtle, aptly named after their tent-like appearance on their shell found in central and northern India. They have one or two brownish to red dots behind their eyes; a significant marker, which differentiates them from Indian roofed turtles that have a crescent-shaped red mark behind the eyes. Due to the pink band on the seams of their carapace, they are also known as Indian pink ringed tent turtle. Males averages 3.5” – 5”, while females are slightly bigger ranging between 5”- 9”.

Red Crowned Roofed Turtle are critically endangered found in the North East of India. They are also known as the Bengal roof turtle. In breeding season, the heads and necks of male exhibit bright red, yellow and blue coloration. Females can grow to a shell length of 22 inch and weigh 25 kilograms, Males reach only half the length of females.

Three Striped Roofed Turtle is critically endangered distributed throughout Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh & West Bengal. They are found in moderate to large rivers and nest on sand banks. Their carapace is olive brown with three black lateral stripes in both sexes, plastron is yellow with each shield having a reddish brown patch only in young ones. Head bears a cream stripe running along the side from the nostrils and passing above the eye and the tympanum. Females can reach up to 48 cm while for males it is only 26 cm.

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