Biodiversity Gallery

Nilssonia hurum (Gray, 1831): Indian peacock softshell turtle (Nilssonia hurum) is locally named as Bor Kaso in Assam. It is a relatively abundant, large (carapace length to 60 cm) riverine species, found in rivers and reservoirs. The carapace is flat and oval or slightly dome shaped. It is beautifully marked, and the background colour is dark green, but in juveniles, the disk bears four to six large ocelli. Plastron is light grey. The centre of each ocellus is a black disk surrounded by concentric yellow circles. Head is large with black reticulation; large yellow or orange patch behind eye and one across snout. It lays 20-38 spherical eggs per clutch during July to September. Incubation lasts for 180 days. The species is primarily nocturnal and omnivorous. Distribution. – Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. Distributed across eastern Pakistan, northern, central, and eastern India, southern Nepal, and all of Bangladesh (Das et al., 2010). IUCN Red List status (2021): Endangered (A2d +4d)