Vijayachelys silvatica Henderson, 1912
Forest cane turtle, Cane turtle, Cochin Forest cane turtle, Kavalai Forest turtle
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Heosemys silvatica Henderson, 1912; Geomyda silvatica Henderson, 1912
Conservation Status
Last record: 1911
Rediscovered in 1981? 1982?
IUCN RedList status: Endangered
Distribution
India
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
FMNH 224155 (Dziomber et al., 2020)
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Henderson, J. R. (1912). Preliminary note on a new tortoise from south India. Records of the Indian Museum 7: 217-218.
Other references:
Appukuttan, K. S. (1991). A survey report of cane turtle and Travancore tortoise. Kerala: Kerala Forest Department, 21 pp.
Asian Turtle Trade Working Group. (2000). Vijayachelys silvatica. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. (http://www.iucnredlist.org). Downloaded on 17 November 2012.
Buhlmann, K.A., Akre, T.S.B., Iverson, J.B., Karapatakis, D., Mittermeier, R.A., Georges, A., Rhodin, A.G.J., van Dijk, P.P., and Gibbons, J.W. (2009). A global analysis of tortoise and freshwater turtle distributions with identification of priority conservation areas. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 8(2): 116-149.
Daniels, R. J. R. (2001). The Cochin forest cane turtle (Geoemyda silvatica) in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu. Cobra 43: 18-20.
Das, I. (1995). Turtles and Tortoises of India. World Wide Fund for Nature - India. Bombay: Oxford University Press. 176 pp.
Deepak, V., Praschag, P., and Vasudevan, K. (2014). Vijayachelys silvatica (Henderson 1912) – Cochin Forest Cane Turtle. In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Pritchard, P.C.H., van Dijk, P.P., Saumure, R.A., Buhlmann, K.A., Iverson, J.B., and Mittermeier, R.A. (eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs No. 5, pp. 078.1–7, doi:10.3854/crm.5.078.silvatica.v1.2014, http://www.iucn-tftsg.org/cbftt/
Deepak, V. and Vasudevan, K. (2009). Endemic turtles of India. In: Vasudevan, K. (Ed.). Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises of India. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, India. ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife and Protected Areas 12(1): 25-42.
Deepak. V. and Vasudevan, K. (2010). Note on defensive behaviour of Cochin forest cane turtle (Vijayachelys silvatica). Reptile Rap – Newsletter of the South Asian Reptile Network 9: 1-2.
Deepak, V. and Vasudevan, K. (2013). Aggressive interactions among male cane turtles Vijayachelys silvatica (Henderson, 1912). Herpetozoa 25(3-4): 159-163.
Deepak, V., Vasudevan, K., and Pandav, B. (2009). Preliminary observation on the diet of cane turtle (Vijayachelys silvatica). Hamadryad 34(1): 166-168.
Dziomber, L., Joyce, W. G. and Foth, C. (2020). The ecomorphology of the shell of extant turtles and its applications for fossil turtles. PeerJ 8: e10490. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10490
Easa, P. S. and Ramachandran, K. K. (2004). Biodiversity documentation of Kerala. Part 10: Reptiles. Peechi, Kerala: KFRI Handbook No. 17, p. 57.
Ernst, C. H. and Barbour, R. W. (1989). Turtles of the World. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. 313 pp.
Ernst, C. H., Altenburg, R. G. M., and Barbour, R. W. (2000). Turtles of the World. World Biodiversity Database, CD-ROM series, Windows, Version 1.2. Biodiversity Center of ETI, Amsterdam.
Groombridge, B., Moll, E. O. and Vijaya, J. (1983). Rediscovery of a rare Indian turtle. Oryx 17(3): 130-134. [Abstract]
Iverson, J. B. (1992). A Revised Checklist with Distribution Maps of the Turtles of the World. Richmond, IN: Privately printed. 363 pp.
Jose, J., Ramachandran, K. K. and Nair, P. V. (2007). Occurrence of the Forest Cane Turtle Geoemyda silvatica (Reptilia, Testudines, Bataguridae) from a Myristica swamp of Kulathupuzha Forest Range, Southern Kerala. ENVIS Newsletter 3(1): 3-4.
Kanagavel, Arun. (2013). A new record of the Cochin Forest Cane Turtle [i]Vijayachelys silvatica[/i] (Henderson, 1912) from Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala, India. Reptile Rap 15: 3-6.
Kanagavel, Arun and Raghavan, Rajeev. (2012). Local ecological knowledge of the threatened Cochin Forest Cane Turtle Vijayachelys silvatica and Travancore Tortoise Indotestudo travancorica from the Anamalai Hills of the Western Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 4(13): 3173–3182.
Moll, E. O., Groombridge, B. and Vijaya, J. (1986). Redescription of the cane turtle with notes on its natural history and classification. Journal of the Bombay National History Society 83: 112-126.
Praschag, Peter et al. (2006). Geoemyda silvatica, an enigmatic turtle of the Geoemydidae (Reptilia: Testudines), represents a distinct genus. Organisms, Diversity & Evolution 6(2): 151-162.
Sharath, B. K. (1990). On the occurrence of the forest cane turtle (Geoemyda silvatica) in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, South India. Hamadryad 15(1): 34.
Smart, U. (2008). Microhabitat description, ethogram and time budget of Vijayachelys silvatica in Karian Shola National Park, Western Ghats, South India. M.Sc. Thesis, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, India.
Smart, U., Deepak, V., and Vasudevan, K. (2014). Preliminary ethogram and in situ time-activity budget of the enigmatic Cane Turtle (Vijayachelys silvatica) from the Western Ghats, south India. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 9(1): 116-122.
Smith, M. A. (1931). The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma: Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. I. Loricata, Testudines. London: Taylor and Francis. 185 pp.
Sreekumar, P. G. and Balakrishnan, M. (1998). A study of the animal diversity in the proposed Adirapally hydro-electric project area in Kerala. International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Science 24: 393-410. [relevant citation?]
Turtle Taxonomy Working Group [van Dijk, P.P., Iverson, J.B., Rhodin, A.G.J., Shaffer, H.B., and Bour, R.]. (2014). Turtles of the world, 7th edition: annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution with maps, and conservation status. In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Pritchard, P.C.H., van Dijk, P.P., Saumure, R.A., Buhlmann, K.A., Iverson, J.B., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs 5(7):000.329-479.
Vasudevan, K. and Deepak, V. (2008). Field studies on the ecology of endemic turtles. Turtle and Tortoise Newsletter 12: 14-16.
Vasudevan, K. and Deepak, V. (2010). Quaint turtle in a gigantic forest. Hornbill 2010(July-September): 10-13.
Vasudevan, K., Pandav, B. and Deepak, V. (2010). Ecology of two endemic turtles in the Western Ghats. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, India, 74pp.
Vijaya, J. (1982a). Rediscovery of the Forest Cane Turtle (Heosemys silvatica) of Kerala. Hamadryad 7: 2–3.
Vijaya, J. (1982b). Rediscovery of the Forest Cane Turtle Heosemys (Geomyda) slvatica (Reptilia, Testudines, Emydidae) from Chalakudy forests in Kerala. Journal of the Bombay National History Society 79: 676–677.
Vijaya, J. (1982c). Rediscovery of a rare turtle from Kerala Forest. Hornbill 1982(4): 25-26.
Vijaya, J. (1983). World’s rarest turtle (we think) lays eggs in captivity. Hamadryad 8(1): 13.
Vijaya, J. (1984). Cane Turtle (Heosemys silvatica) study project in Kerala. Hamadryad 9: 4.
Vijaya, J. (1988). Status of the Forest Cane Turtle (Geomyda silvatica). Hamadryad 13: 10.
Whitaker, N. and Vijaya, J. (2009). Biology of the Forest Cane Turtle Vijayachelys silvatica, in south India. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 8(2): 109-115.
http://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/16509/vijayachelys-silvatica