Nilssonia nigricans Anderson, 1875
Black soft-shell turtle, Black softshell turtle, Black peacock softshell turtle
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Aspideretes nigricans Anderson, 1875; Trionyx nigricans Anderson, 1875
Conservation Status
Rediscovered in 2015 or before
IUCN RedList status: Extinct in the wild
Previously thought to be extinct in the wild, living specimens have since been identified from northeastern India (Kundu et al., 2015).
Distribution
Bangladesh & India
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Anderson, J. 1875. Description of some new Asiatic mammals and Chelonia. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History 16(4): 282-285.
Other references:
Ahmed, M.F. and Das, A. 2010. Tortoises and Turtles of Northeast India: Saving them from Extinction! Survey, Assessment of Present Status and Conservation of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles in Northeast India. Technical Report, Aaranyak, HRCI: 01/2010. Guwahati, India.
Ahsan, M.F., Haque, M.N. and Fugler C.M. 1991. Observations on Aspideretes nigricans, a semi-domesticated endemic turtle from eastern Bangladesh. Amphibia-Reptilia 12: 131–136.
Ahsan, M.F., Haque, M.N. and Saeed, A. 1994. Notes on feeding habits and some morphological features of the Bostami Turtle, Aspideretes nigricans (Anderson). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 91: 458–461.
Ahsan, M.F. and Saeed, M.A. 1989. The Bostami Turtle, Trionyx nigricans Anderson : population status, distribution, historical background and length-weight relationship. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 86(1): 1–6.
Ahsan F. and Saeed, A. 1992. Some aspects of the breeding biology of the Black Softshell Turtle, Aspideretes nigricans. Hamadryad 17: 28-31.
Asmat, G.S.M. (2002). Nilssonia nigricans. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. (http://www.iucnredlist.org). Downloaded on 09 November 2012.
Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (eds). 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. pp. 378. International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
Baruah, C., Sharma, D.K. and Ali Reza, A.H.M. 2010. Le Trionyx noiratre, la Tortue de Bostami Nilssonia nigricans (Anderson 1875). Cheloniens 18: 33–38.
CFH/MCBT. 2006. Conservation Action Plan for Endangered Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises of India. Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, Tamil Nadu.
Das, M. D., Borkataki, M. U., & Kar, M. S. Conservation of Black Softshell Turtle through participatory approach in Assam, Northeast India. Methodology, 3, 6.
Das, Ram Krishna et al. (2020). First Report of Occurrence and Conservation Status of Black Softshell Turtle, Nilssonia nigricans (Anderson 1875) (Reptilia: Testudines: Trionychidae) in West Bengal, India. Proceedings of the Zoological Society. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12595-020-00329-3 [Abstract]
Dutta, G., I.F. Hussain, P.J. Nath & M.F. Ahmed (2022). New distribution record of Black Softshell Turtle Nilssonia nigricans (Anderson, 1875) from Manas National Park, Assam, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 14(10): 22029-22031. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7908.14.10.22029-22031
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Kundu, Shantanu et al. (2015). DNA barcoding of Nilssonia congeners corroborates existence of wild N. nigricans in northeast India. Mitochondrial DNA. doi:10.3109/19401736.2015.1046176 [Abstract]
Kundu, Shantanu, Kumar, Vikas, Tyagi, Kaomud et al. (2018a). Complete mitochondrial genome of Black Soft-shell Turtle (Nilssonia nigricans) and comparative analysis with other Trionychidae. Scientific Reports 8: 17378.
Kundu, Shantanu, Kumar, Vikas, Tyagi, Kaomud and Chandra, Kailash. (2018b). Environmental DNA (eDNA) testing for detection of freshwater turtles in a temple pond. Herpetology Notes 11: 369-371.
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http://morungexpress.com/turtle-species-thought-extinct-wild-discovered-nagaland/
http://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/16540/nilssonia-nigricans-black-softshell-turtle
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/vision-document-for-conserving-assam-temple-turtles-launched/article34863208.ece