Indian tent turtle
P. t. tentoria Chambal River, Uttar Pradesh, India
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Geoemydidae
Genus:	Pangshura
Species:	P. tentoria
Binomial name
Pangshura tentoria (Gray, 1834)
Synonyms[1][3]
Pangshura tentoria tentoria Emys tentoria Gray, 1834 Batagur (Pangshura) tentoria — Gray, 1856 ? Emys namadicus Theobald, 1860 (nomen nudum) Clemmys tentoria — Strauch, 1862 Pangshura tentoria — Günther, 1864 Pangshura tentori [sic] Theobald, 1868 (ex errore) Pangshura tentorium — Gray, 1869 Emys (Pangshura) tectum var. intermedia Blanford, 1870 Cuchoa tentoria — Gray, 1870 Pangshura leithii Gray, 1870 ? Emys namadica — Boulenger, 1889 Kachuga intermedia — Boulenger, 1889 Kachuga tectum intermedia — Annandale, 1912 Kachuga tectum tentoria — M.A. Smith, 1931 Kachuga tecta tentoria — Mertens, L. Müller & Rust, 1934 Kachuga tentoria tentoria — Pritchard, 1979 Pangshura tentoria tentoria — Das, 2001 Kachuga tentnria [sic] Artner, 2003 (ex errore) Pangshura tentoria circumdata Kachuga tecta circumdata Mertens, 1969 Kachuga tecta circumbata [sic] Thelwall, 1971 (ex errore) Kachuga tentoria circumdata — Pritchard, 1979 Pangshura tentoria circumdata — Das, 2001 Pangshura tentoria flaviventer Pangshura flaviventer Günther, 1864 Cuchoa flaviventris [sic] Gray, 1870 (ex errore) Kachuga tecta flaviventer — Mertens, 1969 Kachuga tentoria flaviventer — Moll, 1987 Pangshura tentoria flaviventer — Das, 2001

The Indian tent turtle (Pangshura tentoria) is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. The species is found in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

Description

P. tentoria is a small species of turtle, growing to a maximum straight carapace length of 27 cm (11 in).^[1][4]

Subspecies

Three subspecies of P. tentoria are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.^[5]

• Pangshura tentoria tentoria (Gray, 1834)
• Pangshura tentoria circumdata (Mertens, 1969)
• Pangshura tentoria flaviventer (Günther, 1864)

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Pangshura.

Geographic range

P. tentoria is found in Peninsular India, Nepal, and Bangladesh at elevations below 80 m (260 ft) asl.^[1]

• P. t. tentoria – Mahanadi and Godavari river drainages in India (country endemic)
• P. t. circumdata – upper and central Ganges river drainage in India and southern Nepal
• P. t. flaviventer – lower Ganges drainage in Bangladesh, India, and southern Nepal

Type locality: "in Indiae Orientalis regione Dukhun [=Deccan] dicta "; restricted by M.A. Smith 1931: 128, to "Dhond, Poona Dist.", India.^[5]

Habitat

P. tentoria is primarily a riverine turtle that occurs in both small and large rivers. They bask on rocks and tree snags. Females are largely herbivores while males and juveniles are more carnivorous.^[1]

Reproduction

P. tentoria is oviparous.^[1][5]

References

Further reading

• Gray JE (1834). "Characters of several New Species of freshwater tortoises (Emys) from India and China". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 2: 53–55. (Emys tentoria, new species, p. 54). (in English and Latin).
• Günther ACLG. (1864). The Reptiles of British India. London: The Ray Society. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xxvii + 452 pp. + Plates I-XXVI. (Pangshura tentoria, pp. 34–35 + Plate IV, figures C, C').
• Smith MA (1931). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. I.—Loricata, Testudines. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xxviii + 185 pp. + Plates I-II. (Kachuga tectum tentoria, pp. 128–129).

External links

• Spinks, Phillip Q.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Iverson, John B.; McCord, William P. (2004). "Phylogenetic hypotheses for the turtle family Geoemydidae" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 32 (1): 164–182. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.12.015. PMID 15186805. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2010.
• http://www.chelonia.org/kachuga_gallery.htm