Black Soft-shell Turtle

About the Black Soft-shell Turtle

The black softshell turtle or Bostami turtle or Mohan (Nilssonia nigricans), previously placed in genus Aspideretes, is a species of freshwater turtle found in India (Assam, Tripura and West Bengal) and Bangladesh (Chittagong and Sylhet). It was long believed to consist of inbred individuals of the Indian softshell turtle (N. gangetica) or the Indian peacock softshell turtle (N. hurum), but while it is a close relative of the latter, it is a distinct species.

In the 1800s, it was believed these turtles were brought from Iran to Chittagong shrine pond by Hazrat Bayezid Bostami. This turtles that he had brought to this pond were treated as sacred and respected by the public. It was also believed by following local tales related to the turtle, about the turtles once being Jinns (a mythological creature in Islam).

Previously declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2002, these turtles were found still to exist in a temple's pond called the Hayagriva Madhava Temple located in Assam, and in Kalyan Sagar lake in Tripura Sundari Temple in Udaipur, Tripura, India. Through conservation methods and protection of the species, some of these turtles can be found today throughout the wild, and scientists and environmental biologists are continuing to work hard to preserve this endangered species and their natural habitat. Their mitogenome represents relatedness to 19 other species of the Testudines. Nilssonia nigricans is the sister species of Nilssonia formosa. Wikipedia →