Content uploaded by Ashikur Rahman Shome
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Ashikur Rahman Shome on Nov 22, 2021
Content may be subject to copyright.
SHORT COMMUNICATION
131 TAPROBANICA VOL. 10: NO. 02
Chromatic leucism in the flap shell turtle,
Lissemys punctata from Bangladesh
The spotted flap shell turtle, Lissemys punctata
(Bonnaterre, 1789) has a distribution in
Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal and
Pakistan (Rahman et al. 2021). In Bangladesh,
this species is widely distributed throughout the
freshwater wetlands and the low-lying
floodplains, coastal islands, and hill districts
(Rahman et al. 2015). This species is listed in
CITES (Appendix II) and protected by
Bangladesh Wildlife Conservation & Security
Act 2012 (Schedule II), where commercial trade
is strictly prohibited. Lissemys punctata has an
oval and domed carapace with olive-green
colour spotted by dark yellow blotches (Fig.
1A). The head is also olive green often with
yellow blotches, whereas the plastron is whitish
or pale yellow (Khan 2018). The colour of this
species may vary depending on its habitat and
defence strategy. Colour aberration in animals
may occur due to a lack of melanin. Golden
yellow colour aberration (chromatic leucism) is
rare in animals, especially in turtles (Devkota et
al. 2020). This might be because of the absence
of melanin in the outer dermis (Bechtel 1991).
The presence of high xanthophores and yellow
pteridine pigments in the skin are also
responsible for the golden yellow colour
aberration. We observed a golden leucistic L.
punctata (carapace length ~228 mm, head ~76
mm) in Char Bhasania Village (23°48'42.2"N,
90°43'49.2"E), Madhabdi, Narsingdi District on
15 June 2020 at about 16:45 h. (Fig. 1B). The
animal was found moving slowly on the bank of
a pond. Upon spotting the animal, we
photographed it using a Samsung A50 Phone.
The entire body of the specimen was golden in
colour, which indicates chromatic leucism in L.
punctata. We also observed a second leucistic
individual from a canal in Faridpur Sadar
(23°36'13.9"N, 89°48'57.3"E), Faridpur District
on 22 August 2021 (Fig. 1C). Golden leucism
was previously recorded in two individuals of L.
punctata from India (Gupta & Guy 2020) and
Nepal (Devkota et al. 2020). This phenomenon
was previously unknown in Bangladesh.
Acknowledgements
We thank Deep Ecology & Snake Rescue
Organization, M.R. Karim, Bangladesh (Forest
Department), D. Biswas, and M.M. Rahman for
the support.
Literature Cited
Bechtel, H.B. (1991). Inherited color defects:
Comparison between humans and snakes.
International Journal of Dermatology, 30(4):
243–246.
Devkota, K., D.N. Mandal, and H. Kaiser (2020).
A golden turtle in Nepal: First country record
of chromatic leucism in the spotted northern
Indian flapshell turtle, Lissemys punctata
andersoni. Herpetology Notes, 13: 671–674.
Gupta, S. and J. Guy (2020). Rare yellow turtle
discovered in India <www.edition.cnn.com>
Accessed on 21 July 2020.
Khan, M.M.H. (2018). A Photographic Guide to
Wildlife of Bangladesh. Arannayk Foundation,
Dhaka: 488pp.
Rahman, S.C., S.M.A. Rashid, R. Datta et al.
(2015). Status, exploitation, and conservation
of freshwater turtles and tortoises in
Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh. Chelonian
Conservation & Biology, 14(2): 130–135.
Rahman, S., M.F. Ahmed, B.C. Choudhury et al.
(2021). Lissemys punctata. The IUCN Red
List of Threatened Species:
e.T123802477A3008930.
Submitted: 30 May 2021, Accepted: 9 Sep. 2021
Section Editor: Phil Bowles
M.F. Rabbe1,4, M.M. Alam1, M.F. Jaman1, M.S.
Hossain2, K.N.M. Sarafat3 & A.R. Shome1
1 Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka
1000, Bangladesh
2 Narsingdi Govt. College, Narsingdi, Bangladesh
3 Dhamrai Government University College, Dhamrai,
Dhaka, Bangladesh
4 E-mail: fazlerabbedu@gmail.com
TAPROBANICA, ISSN 1800–427X. November, 2021. Vol. 10, No. 02: pp. 131, pl. 29.
© Research Center for Climate Change and Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics &
Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia, Depok 16424, INDONESIA.
http://www.taprobanica.org
https://doi.org/10.47605/tapro.v10i2.264
