Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Black pond turtle (Geoclemys hamiltonii), recorded as Endangered
Black pond turtle (Geoclemys hamiltonii). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Endangered

Black pond turtle

Geoclemys hamiltonii

Black pond turtle is a turtle in the family Geoemydidae — Geoclemys hamiltonii, recorded as Endangered.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Geoclemys hamiltonii
CITES
Appendix I
Taxonomy
Testudines · Geoemydidae · Geoclemys

Appearance

G. Hamiltonii is mainly black with small yellowish or white spots, and a much-elevated carapace, with three interrupted keels or series of nodose prominences corresponding to the vertebral and costal shields. The posterior lobe of the plastron is much narrower than the opening of the shell, nearly as long as the width of the bridge, deeply notched posteriorly. The snout is very short, not projecting.

Maximum straight carapace length is 41 cm (16 in).

Range and habitat

G. Hamiltonii is found in southern Pakistan (Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra River drainages), northern India (Assam, Bihar, Jammu, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal), Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. The species, that is endemic to South Asia, belongs to the monotypic genus Geoclemys.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

In crisis

CITES lists this taxon on Appendix I. Confirm the current appendix on the CITES checklist.

Black pond turtle is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Black pond turtle, Wikidata item Q1345661. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Also in this catalog

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Vaquita

Phocoena sinus
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Javan rhinoceros

Rhinoceros sondaicus
Photograph of Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Sumatran orangutan

Pongo abelii
Photograph of Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Axolotl

Ambystoma mexicanum

Quick answers

What is Black pond turtle?
Black pond turtle is a turtle in the family Geoemydidae — Geoclemys hamiltonii.
What is the conservation status of Black pond turtle?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Geoclemys hamiltonii. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Black pond turtle live?
G. Hamiltonii is found in southern Pakistan (Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra River drainages), northern India (Assam, Bihar, Jammu, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal), Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
Why is Black pond turtle in crisis?
It is Endangered on Wikidata. Read the official Red List assessment for the criteria.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Geoclemys hamiltonii?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Black pond turtle a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.