An albino Indian Flap-shelled Turtle, Lissemys punctata (Bonnaterre 1789), from Telangana, India

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The Indian Flap-shelled Turtle (Lissemys punctata)
occurs in rivers and lakes in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka,
Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar (Uetz et al. 2021), and
an introduced population has been found in the Andaman
and Nicobar Islands (Lever 2003). This species is listed in
Appendix I of CITES (2021), Schedule I of the Indian Wild
Life Protection Act, 1972 (https://legislative.gov.in/sites/
default/files/A1972-530.pdf), and as Vulnerable (VU) on the
IUCN Red List (Rahman et al. 2021).
At 1630 h on 1 August 2021, MKV and SKP found
an albino hatchling Lissemys punctata (carapace length 4
cm, width 3 cm, height 1.5 cm, weight 25 g; Fig. 1) near a
freshwater pond in a forested area of Sirinepally, Nizamabad
District, Telangana, India (18.464488°N, 78.273015°E). A
photographic voucher has been catalogued as ZRC(IMG)
2.573 in the Zoological Reference Collections of the Lee
Kong Chian Natural History Museum at the National
University of Singapore. The identity of the species was con-
firmed from the photograph by Sneha Dharadkar, co-founder
of the Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises of India (FTTI).
Albinism is a complete lack of melanin, including the
iris, which is red (Bechtel 1995; Mahabal and Thakur 2014).
Albinos typically have low survival rates because the associ-
ated color defects have negative effects on fitness, feeding, and
reproduction (Krecsák 2008).
This is the first report of an albino Indian Flap-shelled
Turtle from Telangana, India. Other albino Lissemys punc-
tata have been reported from Nagpur, Maharashtra (D’Abreu
1928); Himmatnagar, Gujarat (Vyas 1997); Kozhikode, Kerala
(Palot and Radhakrishnan 2004); Chennai, Tamil Nadu (Cyril
2009); and Pune, Maharashtra (Vaghela and Kamble 2021).
In addition, bright yellow turtles from Belasore, Odisha, and
Burdwan, West Bengal (Jain 2020), appear to be albinos but the
factor responsible for the yellow coloration is unknown.
An Albino Indian Flap-shelled Turtle,
Lissemys punctata (Bonnaterre 1789),
from Telangana, India
Manoj Kumar Vittapu1, Shravan Kumar Poshetty1, Gaini Sailu2, and Buddi Laxmi Narayana3
1HIG-18, Phase II, Ushodaya Enclave, Madinaguda, Hyderabad–500049, Telangana, India
2Krishna Brundavan Colony, House No: 5-100800, Bandamkommu, Ameenpur, BHEL, Hyderabad–502032, Telangana, India
3Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad–50006, Telangana, India (narayana.laxmi8@gmail.com)
Fig. 1. An albino Indian Flap-shelled Turtle (Lissemys punctata) from Sirinepally, Nizamabad District, Telangana State, India (ZRC(IMG) 2.573).
Photographs by Manoj Kumar Vittapu.
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Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin:
On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer 190
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World’s Mammals in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. 220
More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223
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NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247
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EDITORIAL INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 251
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Acknowledgements
We thank the Telangana State Forest Department for support
and continuous encouragement. BLN thanks the Curator,
Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad, for providing necessary
facilities.
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