View source for Ganges softshell turtle

{{Speciesbox
| image = Indian softshell turtle (Nilssonia gangetica) Babai River.jpg
| image_caption = Babai River, Nepal
| image2 = Nilssonia gangetica.jpg
| image2_caption = Immature (the dark eyespots on the carapace are indistinct or absent in adults)<ref name=Ernst/>
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN2.3
| status_ref = <ref name="Rhodin11">{{Harnvb|Rhodin|2011|p=000.207}}</ref><ref name="redlist">[http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/39618/0 Nilssonia gangetica] from the Redlist</ref>
| genus = Nilssonia
| species = gangetica
| authority = ([[Georges Cuvier|Cuvier]], 1825)<ref name="Rhodin11" /><ref name="redlist" />
| synonyms =
* ''Trionyx gangeticus'' <small>Cuvier, 1825</small>
* ''Trionyx javanicus'' <small>Gray, 1831</small>
* ''Testudo gotaghol'' <small>Buchanan-Hamilton, 1831</small> ''([[nomen nudum]])''
* ''Aspidonectes gangeticus'' <small>Wagler, 1833</small>
* ''Gymnopus duvaucelii'' <small>Duméril & Bibron, 1835</small>
* ''Tyrse gangetica'' <small>Gray, 1844</small>
* ''Trionyx gangetiga'' <small>Gray, 1873</small> ''([[ex errore]])''
* ''Isola gangetica'' <small>Baur, 1893</small>
* ''Aspideretes gangeticus'' <small>Hay, 1904</small>
* ''Trionyx gangeticus mahanaddicus'' <small>Annandale, 1912</small>
* ''Gymnopus duvaucelli'' <small>Smith, 1931</small>
* ''Amyda gangetica'' <small>Mertens, Müller & Rust, 1934</small>
* ''Trionix gangeticus'' <small>Richard, 1999</small>
| synonyms_ref = <ref name="Fritz 2007">{{Cite journal|journal=Vertebrate Zoology |title=Checklist of Chelonians of the World |year=2007 |author=Fritz Uwe |author2=Peter Havaš |volume=57 |issue=2 |pages=310 |issn=1864-5755 |url=http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/851.pdf |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5v20ztMND?url=http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/851.pdf |archive-date=17 December 2010 |access-date=29 May 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}
The '''Indian softshell turtle''' (''Nilssonia gangetica''), or '''Ganges softshell turtle''' is a [[species]] of [[softshell turtle]]. It lives in rivers such as the [[Ganges]] and [[Mahanadi river|Mahanadi]] in [[India]] and [[Bangladesh]]. Its shell can be up to {{convert|94|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length.<ref name="Ernst">Ernst, C.H.; Altenburg, R.G.M.; and Barbour, R.W. (1997). ''[http://wbd.etibioinformatics.nl/bis/turtles.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=208 Aspideretes gangeticus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000000/http://wbd.etibioinformatics.nl/bis/turtles.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=208 |date=2016-03-04 }}'', Turtles of the World. Retrieved 17 June 2014.</ref> It feeds mostly on [[fish]], [[amphibian]]s, [[carrion]] and other animal matter, but also eats [[aquatic plant]]s.<ref name="Ernst" /> The turtle is listed as a [[vulnerable species]].<ref name="redlist"/>

The turtle has a long neck and a long nose, which means it is able to easily keep the tip of its nose out of the water to breathe.<ref name="arkive.org"/> It has an oval shaped shell, which is also fairly flat and smooth, meaning it is able to swim very fast.<ref name="arkive.org"/>

These turtles are often kept in the temple ponds of [[Odisha]] where they are considered [[sacred]].<ref>{{cite journal| journal=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal| year=1914| title=Relics of the worship of mud-turtles (Trionychidae) in India and Burma|author1=Annandale, Nelson| author2=Shastri, Mahamahopadhyaya Haraprasad| pages=131–138| url=https://archive.org/stream/mobot31753002183850#page/131/mode/2up}}</ref>

The Indian softshell turtle is under threat as 30 to 40 tons of turtle [[meat]] is sold in markets every week.<ref name="arkive.org">Nilssonia gangetica | ARKive: [http://www.arkive.org/ganges-soft-shelled-turtle/nilssonia-gangetica/ Ganges soft-shelled turtle videos, photos and facts - Nilssonia gangetica | ARKive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304142529/http://www.arkive.org/ganges-soft-shelled-turtle/nilssonia-gangetica/ |date=2016-03-04 }}, accessdate: December 21, 2015</ref> The shells are also used to make [[mask]]s, which are sold to tourists.<ref name="arkive.org"/> The turtles' [[habitat]] is also being changed by the building of [[dam]]s, [[drainage]] works, and increasing levels of fishing and farming.<ref name="arkive.org"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:National symbols of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:State symbols of Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Turtles of Asia]]