Indian flapshell turtle

Common name: Indian flapshell turtle

Scientific name: Lissemys punctata

Photo credit: D.Mahamuni
Photo shot at: Near New Auditorium

This is a fresh water species of turtle found in South Asia which is omnivorous in nature. Its diet has been known to consist of frogs, fishes, shrimps, snails, aquatic vegetation, plant leaves, flowers, fruits, grasses and seeds lives in the shallow, quiet, often stagnant waters of rivers, streams, marshes, ponds, lakes and irrigation canals, and tanks. Waters with sand or mud bottoms are preferred. It prefers to inhabit shallow, muddy ditches, lakes, marshes, ponds and irrigation canals. Habitats with muddy or sandy bottoms are preferred because of the turtle’s tendency to burrow.