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The Land Tortoise (Testudo emys)
This Land Tortoise is the
largest of the Asiatic species of Testudo. The shell is black, convex and cone-shaped. This
species is said to be widely distributed, extending over Burma, Malay Peninsula and
Archipelago, but within Indian limits it has been recorded only from Assam. It inhabits hilly
districts and prefers the vicinity of water. |
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Starred
Tortoise
Testudo elegans is popularly known as the Starred Tortoise and is
common in India and Sri Lanka. The shell reaches a length of eight inches and is very high and
dome-like. The shell is almost black with the centres of the dorsal shields forming more or
less distinct humps from which yellow lines radiate, giving the shields a star-like appearance
from which the animal derives its popular name. |
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Young Crocodile
Crocodilus palustris, popularly
known as the Mugger or Marsh Crocodile, is the common freshwater crocodile of India. It is
found in marshes, swamps, muddy, rivers, canals and tanks and is able to bury itself in mud
when the water dries up. It feeds chiefly on fishes and birds. It attains a much smaller than
the Estuarine Crocodile, and rarely exceeds a length of about twelve feet. It lays about
twenty eggs in a hollow excavated on sandbanks of the rivers and swamps in which it lives. Its
distribution ranges over the whole of India and Sri Lanka, and even extends to Nepal.
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Reptiles