First Report of Turtles from the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan
Abstract
Five turtle species, Cuora amboinensis, C. mouhotii, Cyclemys gemeli, Melanochelys tricarinata, and Indotestudo elongata, are reported for the first time from the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. The record of C. mouhotii represents a significant range extension to the west; that of C. amboinensis represents a range extension across a political border from the same landscape in adjacent Northeast India; and those of C. gemeli, M. tricarinata, and I. elongata fill geographic gaps in their known distributions. An analysis of distributions of other turtle species in adjacent eastern Nepal and Northeast India suggests that additional country records of turtles may be found in Bhutan, especially in the southern lowlands of the country.
Bhutan is a mountainous, landlocked Himalayan country, lying between the two large Asian nations of China and India, on the southern slopes of the Himalayas (Fig. 1). Consequently, it was generally assumed that the country is of low priority in terms of turtle conservation, and indeed, no turtle species has been reported during previous herpetological surveys (e.g., Biswas 1976; Bauer and Günther 1992; Das and Palden 2000; Wangyal 2011). Here we report the occurrence of five turtle species in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. One of these represents a significant range extension to the west, one represents a range extension across a political border from the same landscape in adjacent Northeast India, and three fill geographic gaps in their known global distributions.
Citation: Chelonian Conservation and Biology 11, 2; 10.2744/CCB-0995.1
For each of these records, we provide a digital voucher, georeferenced locality data within each relevant Dzongkhag ( = district), a habitat description, and information on previously known species range. We are convinced that these records refer to naturally occurring, wild individuals (and not human-transported individuals), as they were observed in protected areas within undisturbed broadleaved forests with low human densities. As further evidence, there are no reports of turtle trade or consumption within Bhutan that we are aware of, and these species are known from similar habitats in adjacent parts of eastern Nepal and Northeast India.
Measurement data are available for a single turtle record that was retrieved as a dried shell. Straight carapace length (SCL) was measured along the vertebral line from the nuchal to posterior edge of last marginal. Images were recorded opportunistically during other field studies, and digital voucher images have been archived at the Raffles Museum for Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore (ZRC [IMG]). Geographical coordinates and elevation were recorded with a Garmin E-trek Vista or 12XL GPS (datum WGS 84).
GEOEMYDIDAE
Cuora amboinensis (Daudin 1801)
One specimen was found at Norbuling Lake (lat 28°08′30″N, long 100°00′28″E), within the Royal Manas National Park, Sarpang District, Southeast Bhutan, within a tree buttress near a lake, at an altitude of 390 m asl on 14 April 2006. A second individual (Fig. 2a) was found at Somrong (lat 26°47′28.9″N, long 90°58′11.37.9″E), Zhemgang District, South-central Bhutan, within a tropical broadleaf forest, at the edge of a stream, at an altitude of 253 m asl on 6 October 2010. The Bhutanese records are not unexpected, as the species has been recorded from the Manas Tiger Reserve of Assam State, India (Das 1990), which abuts Bhutan's southeastern border. The known distribution of the species encompasses Northeast India, Bangladesh, the Nicobar Archipelago, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Vietnam, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi, Ceram, Ambon, and the Philippines (Das 1987, 1995; Rummler and Fritz 1991; Nguyen and Ho 1996; Cox et al. 1998; Zhang et al. 1998).
![Figure 2. . Voucher photographs for turtles found during field efforts in Bhutan. a. Cuora amboinensis, Somrong, Zhemgang District, South-central Bhutan, 255 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.150). Photograph by Kinley/World Wide Fund for Nature- Bhutan Programme. b. Cuora mouhotii, Gulabi Top, Zhemgang District, South-central Bhutan, 370 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.151). Photograph by Dorji Wangchuk. c. Cyclemys gemeli, Sershong, Sarpang District, South-east Bhutan, 325 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.160b). Photograph by Jigme Tshelthrim Wangyal. d. Melanochelys tricarinata, Pangbang, Zhemgang District, South-central Bhutan, 1,350 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.152). Photograph by Dorji Wangchuk. e. Indotestudo elongata, Gelephu, Sarpang District, Southeast Bhutan, 255 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.153). Photograph by Dorji Wangchuk.](/view/journals/ccab/11/2/i1071-8443-11-2-268-f02.png)
![Figure 2. . Voucher photographs for turtles found during field efforts in Bhutan. a. Cuora amboinensis, Somrong, Zhemgang District, South-central Bhutan, 255 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.150). Photograph by Kinley/World Wide Fund for Nature- Bhutan Programme. b. Cuora mouhotii, Gulabi Top, Zhemgang District, South-central Bhutan, 370 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.151). Photograph by Dorji Wangchuk. c. Cyclemys gemeli, Sershong, Sarpang District, South-east Bhutan, 325 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.160b). Photograph by Jigme Tshelthrim Wangyal. d. Melanochelys tricarinata, Pangbang, Zhemgang District, South-central Bhutan, 1,350 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.152). Photograph by Dorji Wangchuk. e. Indotestudo elongata, Gelephu, Sarpang District, Southeast Bhutan, 255 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.153). Photograph by Dorji Wangchuk.](/view/journals/ccab/11/2/full-i1071-8443-11-2-268-f02.png)
![Figure 2. . Voucher photographs for turtles found during field efforts in Bhutan. a. Cuora amboinensis, Somrong, Zhemgang District, South-central Bhutan, 255 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.150). Photograph by Kinley/World Wide Fund for Nature- Bhutan Programme. b. Cuora mouhotii, Gulabi Top, Zhemgang District, South-central Bhutan, 370 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.151). Photograph by Dorji Wangchuk. c. Cyclemys gemeli, Sershong, Sarpang District, South-east Bhutan, 325 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.160b). Photograph by Jigme Tshelthrim Wangyal. d. Melanochelys tricarinata, Pangbang, Zhemgang District, South-central Bhutan, 1,350 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.152). Photograph by Dorji Wangchuk. e. Indotestudo elongata, Gelephu, Sarpang District, Southeast Bhutan, 255 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.153). Photograph by Dorji Wangchuk.](/view/journals/ccab/11/2/inline-i1071-8443-11-2-268-f02.png)
Citation: Chelonian Conservation and Biology 11, 2; 10.2744/CCB-0995.1
Cuora mouhotii (Gray 1842)
One specimen (Fig. 2b) was found at Gulabi Top (lat 26°50′14″N, long 90°58′11.79″E), Zhemgang District, south-central Bhutan, at an altitude of 370 m asl on 6 June 2007 in hilly subtropical broadleaf forest with thick, moist undergrowth.
The current record is the first for Bhutan, and an extension of range ca. 157 km to the west of Sessa (lat 27°12′N, long 92°30′E). The known distribution of this species extends from Northeast India, through Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos to southern China (Das 1987, 1995; Nguyen and Ho 1996; Zhang et al. 1998; Choudhury 2001b). The nearest records to Bhutan are those from the north bank of the River Brahmaputra in Northeast India, reported by Choudhury (2001a), from Drupong Reserve Forest (Papum Pare District, Arunachal Pradesh), Balipara Reserve Forest (Sonitpur District, Assam State), and Sessa (West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh).
Cyclemys gemeli (Fritz et al. 2008)
One specimen (Fig. 2c) was found at Sershong (lat 26°56′18.83″N, long 90°31′06.65″E), Sarpang District, Southeast Bhutan, at an altitude of 315 m asl on 7 June 2011. Found at the edge of a tropical broadleaf forest.
This recently described species is known from near Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh (near the Nepal border), across to northeastern India (Fritz et al. 2008), including Nepal (Rai 2004) and Bangladesh (Kabir et al. 2009), although with apparently isolated populations. This species is a member of a taxonomically cryptic lineage of Asian turtles, species determination by external morphology alone being difficult (see Praschag et al. 2009). However, as the morphological details match this species and no other species of Cyclemys have been reported further west of northeastern India, we allocated the Bhutanese material to this nominal species.
Melanochelys tricarinata (Blyth, 1856)
One specimen (Fig. 2d) was found at Pangbang (lat 27°08′37.8″N, long 90°39′34.0″E), Zhemgang District, south-central Bhutan, at an altitude of 350 m asl on 6 June 2007 in subtropical broadleaf forest. The known distribution of the species includes areas east, west, and south of Bhutan, including the Manas Tiger Reserve of Assam State (Das 1990) which abuts Bhutan's southeastern borders. Therefore, a Bhutanese record is not unexpected. The range of the species is northern and eastern India, along the foothills of the Himalayas to Northeast India and in northern Bangladesh, and there appears to be a disjunct population in extreme Southeast Bangladesh (Das 1995, 2009; Kabir et al. 2009).
TESTUDINIDAE
Indotestudo elongata (Blyth, 1853)
One specimen, represented by a complete shell with scutes (Fig. 2e) of SCL 260 mm, was found at Gelephu (lat 26°52′28.08″N, long 90°29′43.09″E), Sarpang District, Southeast Bhutan, at an altitude of 255 m asl on 16 September 2008 on a river bed at the edge of tropical broadleaf forest near a human settlement. This species is known from isolated localities (perhaps an effect of habitat fragmentation) in Nepal, northern West Bengal, northern Orissa, eastern Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam (Goalpara and the Cachar Hills), Mizoram and Meghalaya (Khasi Hills), and Bangladesh, besides Myanmar, southern China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Malay Peninsula (Swan and Leviton 1962; Zhao and Adler 1993; Das 1995; Nguyen and Ho 1996; Cox et al. 1998; Zhang et al. 1998; Choudhury 2001b; Jha 2009). Given its known distribution east, west, and south of Bhutan (see Frazier 1992), the current record is unsurprising.
SUMMARY
These five species of turtles are being reported from Bhutan for the first time. All were from subtropical forests, at the edge of the lowlands called “duars” that are subject to land use practices such as shifting cultivation, overgrazing, and burning, as well as extraction of timber for manufacturing traditional medicine (Sargent 1985; Karan 1990; Das and Palden 2001). Additional turtle species are likely to be found in Bhutan. These include species that are known from Manas Tiger Reserve (Pangshura smithii, P. sylhetensis, and P. tentoria; Das 1990), a protected area in Northeast Indian state of Assam that is adjacent to the Royal Manas National Park in south-eastern Bhutan. Other turtle species have distributions that approach the southern borders of Bhutan, in eastern India's West Bengal state, including the Baradighi area (Nilssonia hurum; Shaw 1931; Das 1995), and Gorumara Wildlife Sanctuary (Pangshura tectum, Melanochelys trijuga, Nilssonia sp., and Lissemys punctata; Das 1997). Turtles that reach eastern Nepal (including Morenia petersi) are also expected to occur in appropriate habitats in Bhutan. Table 1 summarizes the occurrences of turtles in Bhutan and adjacent areas.
Political map of Bhutan, showing localities mentioned in text. Image prepared by Jigme Dorji.
Voucher photographs for turtles found during field efforts in Bhutan. a. Cuora amboinensis, Somrong, Zhemgang District, South-central Bhutan, 255 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.150). Photograph by Kinley/World Wide Fund for Nature- Bhutan Programme. b. Cuora mouhotii, Gulabi Top, Zhemgang District, South-central Bhutan, 370 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.151). Photograph by Dorji Wangchuk. c. Cyclemys gemeli, Sershong, Sarpang District, South-east Bhutan, 325 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.160b). Photograph by Jigme Tshelthrim Wangyal. d. Melanochelys tricarinata, Pangbang, Zhemgang District, South-central Bhutan, 1,350 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.152). Photograph by Dorji Wangchuk. e. Indotestudo elongata, Gelephu, Sarpang District, Southeast Bhutan, 255 m asl (ZRC [IMG] 2.153). Photograph by Dorji Wangchuk.
