Geoclemys hamiltonii

Taxobox | name = Spotted Pond turtle
status = VU| status_system = iucn2.3

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regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Reptilia
ordo = Testudines
familia = Geoemydidae
genus = "Geoclemys"
species = "G. hamiltonii"
binomial = "Geoclemys hamiltonii"
binomial_authority = (Gray, 1831)
synonyms =
range_

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Black Pond turtle or Spotted Pond turtle "Geoclemys hamiltonii" is a species of turtle found in South Asia.

Description

Carapace much elevated, with three interrupted keels or series of nodose prominences corresponding to the vertebral and costal shields; posterior border strongly serrated in the young, feebly in the adult; nuchal moderate, broader posteriorly than anteriorly; first vertebral not or scarcely broader anteriorly than posteriorly; second and third vertebrals broader than long in the young, nearly as long as broad in the adult, narrower than the costals. Plastron large, angulate laterally, truncate anteriorly; posterior lobe much narrower than the opening of the shell, nearly as long as tho width of the bridge, deeply notched posteriorly. Head rather large; snout very short, not projecting; upper jaw emarginate mesially; the width of the mandible at the symphysis nearly equals the horizontal diameter of the orbit; a large shield, sometimes divided into three, covers the upper surface of the snout and the crown; one shield round the upper jaw and one on each side between the eye and the ear. Digits webbed to the claws. Tail extremely short. Shell dark brown or blackish, elegantly marked with yellow spots and radiating streaks. Soft parts dark brown or blackish, with round yellow spots, largest on the head and neck. [Boulenger, G. A. 1890. Fauna of British India. Reptilia and Batrachia.]

Distribution

Southern Pakistan (Indus and Ganges river drainages), north-eastern India (Assam) and Bangladesh.

Notes

References

* Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is vulnerable and the criteria used
* Khan, Moh. A.R. 1982 Chelonians of Bangladesh and their conservation. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 79 (1): 110-116.
* Murray, J. A. 1884 Additions to the reptilian fauna of Sind. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (5)14:106-111.
* Philippen, H.-D. 2004 Geoclemys hamiltonii (Gray 1831) - Strahlen-Dreikielschildkröte. Reptilia (Münster) 9 (5): 51-54

External links

*
* http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Geoclemys_hamiltoni_juv.jpg
* http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Geoclemys_hamiltoni1.jpg
* http://home01.wxs.nl/~g.p-reptielen/schild/2Geoclemyshamiltonii4Kachugatecta.jpg