Melanochelys trijuga (SCHWEIGGER, 1812)

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Higher Taxa	Geoemydidae (Geoemydinae), Testudinoidea, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies	Melanochelys trijuga trijuga (SCHWEIGGER 1812) Melanochelys trijuga coronata (ANDERSON 1879) Melanochelys trijuga edeniana (THEOBALD 1876) Melanochelys trijuga indopeninsularis (ANNANDALE 1913) Melanochelys trijuga parkeri (DERANIYAGALA 1939) Melanochelys trijuga thermalis (LESSON 1830)
Common Names	E: Indian Black Turtle, Indian Pond Terrapin, Bengal Black Turtle G: Schwarzbauch-Erdschildkröte
Synonym	Emys trijuga SCHWEIGGER 1812 Testudo scabra LINNAEUS 1758: 198 (?) Emys Trijuga — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835: 310 Emys scabra — BELL 1836-1842 Emys scabra — SOWERBY 1872 Nicoria trijuga — BOULENGER 1889 Nicoria trijuga — BOULENGER 1893: 312 Geoemyda trijuga — SIEBENROCK 1909 Melanochelys trijuga — PRITCHARD 1979 Melanochelys trijuga — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 172 Melanochelys trijuga — KARUNARATHNA & AMARASINGHE 2011 Melanochelys trijuga — TTWG 2021 Melanochelys trijuga trijuga (LESSON 1834) Emys belangeri LESSON 1834 (in BÉLANGER) Emys trijuga var. maderaspatana ANDERSON 1879 Geoemyda trijuga plumbea ANNANDALE 1915 Geoemyda trijuga trijuga — MERTENS 1934 Melanochelys trijuga trijuga — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 172 Melanochelys trijuga trijuga — PRITCHARD 1992 Melanochelys trijuga trijuga — DAVID 1994 Melanochelys trijuga trijuga — HALLERMANN et al. 2001 Melanochelys trijuga trijuga — MURTHY 2010: 23 Melanochelys trijuga trijuga — TTWG 2021 Melanochelys trijuga coronata (ANDERSON 1878) Emys trijuga var. coronata ANDERSON 1878 Geoemyda trijuga coronata, SIEBENROCK 1909 Melanochelys trijuga coronata — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 172 Melanochelys trijuga coronata — PRITCHARD 1992 Melanochelys trijuga coronata — DAVID 1994 Melanochelys trijuga coronata — MURTHY 2010: 23 Melanochelys trijuga coronata — TTWG 2021 Melanochelys trijuga edeniana THEOBALD 1876 Melanochelys edeniana THEOBALD 1876 Emys trijuga var. burmana ANDERSON 1878 Nicoria trijuga var. edeniana, BOULENGER 1889 Geoemyda trijuga edeniana, SIEBENROCK 1909 Melanochelys trijuga wiroti REIMANN in WIROT [NUTAPHAND] 1979 Melanochelys trijuga edeniana — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 172 Melanochelys trijuga edeniana — PRITCHARD 1992 Melanochelys trijuga edeniana — DAVID 1994 Melanochelys edeniana — KUCHLING 1995 Melanochelys trijuga wiroti — OBST 2003: 17 Melanochelys trijuga edeniana — TTWG 2014 Melanochelys trijuga edeniana — TTWG 2021 Melanochelys trijuga indopeninsularis (ANNANDALE 1913) Geoemyda indopeninsularis ANNANDALE 1913 Geoemyda trijuga indopeninsularis, SMITH 1931 Melanochelys trijuga indopeninsularis — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 172 Melanochelys trijuga indopeninsularis — PRITCHARD 1992 Melanochelys trijuga indopeninsularis — DAVID 1994 Melanochelys trijuga indopeninsularis — MURTHY 2010: 23 Melanochelys trijuga indopeninsularis — TTWG 2021 Melanochelys trijuga parkeri DERANIYAGALA 1939 Melanochelys trijuga parkeri DERANIYAGALA 1939 Melanochelys trijuga parkeri — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 172 Melanochelys trijuga parkeri — PRITCHARD 1992 Melanochelys trijuga parkeri — DAVID 1994 Melanochelys trijuga parkeri — MURTHY 2010: 23 Melanochelys trijuga parkeri — TTWG 2021 Melanochelys trijuga thermalis (LESSON 1830) Emys thermalis LESSON 1830 Emys sebae GRAY 1831 Nicoria trijuga var. thermalis BOULENGER 1889 Geoemyda trijuga thermalis SIEBENROCK 1909 Melanochelys trijuga thermalis — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 172 Melanochelys trijuga thermalis — PRITCHARD 1992 Melanochelys trijuga thermalis — DAVID 1994 Melanochelys trijuga thermalis — JANZEN et al. 2007 Melanochelys trijuga thermalis — MURTHY 2010: 23 Melanochelys trijuga thermalis — TTWG 2021
Distribution	India (Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Nagaland etc.), N Bangladesh, C Myanmar (= Burma), Sri Lanka, Maldives, Chagos Islands, Nepal May have been introduced to the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean (LEVER 2003: 20). trijuga: India coronata: SW India (Kerala) indopeninsularis: Bangladesh, NE India (Assam), Nepal parkeri: Sri Lanka thermalis: SE India, Maldives, Sri Lanka Type locality: according to Iverson (1992), from "insula Java" (in the Greater Sundas, Indonesia).
Reproduction	oviparous. Exhibits temperature‐dependent sex determination (TSD) fide Cornejo-Páramo et al. 2020 (and references therein).
Types	Holotype: unlocated (not located in MNHN) Holotype: ZSI (?), "Ind. Mus. No. 1012" according to Annandale (1913:69); presumably in the ZSI, fide Iverson 1992: 146 [coronata] Syntypes: ZSI 830, 1010, 1011. 1018, 1097, 1369 and 2589, (7 specimens) according to Annandale (1913:71) [edeniana] Syntypes: ZSI 17098 and 17100 (2 specimens) [indopeninsularis] Holotype: BMNH [parkeri] Holotype: unlocated fide Iverson 1992: 146 [thermalis] Holotype: ZFMK 46510, female [wiroti]
Diagnosis	Additional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (4013 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details.
Comment	Synonymy: According to Wermuth and Mertens 1977:35 (under Geoemyda trijuga), and Iverson 1986:56, Testudo scabra Linnaeus 1758:198, (Holotype: ZMUU 129), may be an older name for this species. See also Pritchard and Trebbau 1984:182, Smith 1931:97; Bourret 1941:155-156 (as Geoemyda trijuga); and Pritchard (1979:204). Distribution: subspecies following DAS (1996). Uttarakhand, India (Subir Chowfin and Uwe Fritz, pers. comm., 3 Sept 2013). Melanochelys trijuga was reported to occur in forests of Dangs, South Gujarat (Daniel and Shull, 1963; Vyas and Patel, 1990), but more recently this species has become regionally extinct in Gujarat (Vyas, 2007; Patel et al., 2018, Patel & Vyas 2019). Karyotype: DeSmet (1978) reported that the 2n chromosome number is 50 (19 pairs of macrochromosomes and 6 pairs of microchromosomes), but Carr and Bickham (1986) found 52 chromosomes. Types: The holotype of Testudo scabra Linnaeus 1758 is actually Rhinoclemmys punctularia. To promote nomenclatural stability, RHODIN & CARR (2009) designate Testudo scabra Linnaeus 1758 as a nomen oblitum and nomen rejectum synonymized under Testudo punctularia Daudin 1801, already a nomen protectum. Type species: Emys trijuga SCHWEIGGER 1812 is the type species of the genus Melanochelys GRAY 1869: 187.
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