>Pvmoutside at 14:36, 23 April 2021

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{{Short description|Species of turtle}}
{{Speciesbox
| status = EN
| status_system = IUCN3.1
|status_ref = <ref>Ahmed, M.F., Praschag, P. & Singh, S. (2021). "''Hardella thurjii''". The [[IUCN]]<Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T9696A3152073. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T9696A3152073.en. Downloaded on 23 April 2021.</ref>
| image = Hardella thurjii Hardwicke.jpg
| image_caption = ''Hardella thurjii''
| display_parents = 2
| genus = Hardella
| parent_authority = [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1870
| species = thurjii
| authority = (Gray, 1831)
| range_map =
| range_map_caption =
| synonyms =
;''Hardella thurjii thurjii'' {{small|(Gray, 1831)}}
*''Emys thuryi'' {{small|Gray ''in'' [[Edward Griffith (zoologist)|Griffith]] & [[Edward Pidgeon|Pidgeon]], 1831}} ''([[nomen oblitum]])''
*''Emys thurjii'' {{small|Gray, 1831}}
*''Emys thuji'' {{small|Gray, 1831}} ''([[ex errore]])''
*''Emys flavonigra'' {{small|[[René Primevère Lesson|Lesson]], 1831}}
*''Emys thugi'' {{small|Gray, 1832}} ''(ex errore)''
*''Clemmys (Clemmys) thurgii'' {{small|[[Leopold Fitzinger|Fitzinger]], 1835}} ''(ex errore)''
*''Emys thurgii'' {{small|— Gray, 1844}}
*''Clemmys thurgi'' {{small|[[Alexander Strauch|Strauch]], 1862}} ''(ex errore)''
*''Batagur thurgii'' {{small|— [[William Theobald|Theobald]], 1868}}
*''Kachuga oldhami'' {{small|Gray, 1869}}
*''Hardella thurgi'' {{small|— Gray, 1870}}
*''Emys thurgi'' {{small|— [[Albert Günther|Günther]], 1871}}
*''Batagur (Hardella) thurgi'' {{small|— [[John Anderson (zoologist)|Anderson]], 1879}}
*? ''Batagur cautleyi'' {{small|[[Richard Lydekker|Lydekker]], 1885}}
*? ''Batagur falconeri'' {{small|Lydekker, 1885}}
*''Hardella thurgii'' {{small|— [[Friedrich Siebenrock|Siebenrock]], 1906}}
*''Hardella thurjii'' {{small|— Siebenrock, 1909}}
*''Hardella thurjii thurjii'' {{small|— [[Heinz Wermuth|Wermuth]] & [[Robert Mertens|Mertens]], 1977}}
*''Hardella thurji'' {{small|[[Peter Pritchard|Pritchard]], 1979}} ''(ex errore)''
*''Hardella thurji thurji'' {{small|— [[Fritz Jürgen Obst|Obst]], 1985}}
;''Hardella thurjii indi'' {{small|Gray, 1870}}
*''Hardella indi'' {{small|Gray, 1870}}
*''Hardella thurjii indi'' {{small|— Wermuth & Mertens, 1977}}
*''Hardella thurji indi'' {{small|— Obst, 1984}}
*''Hardella thrrji indi'' {{small|[[Jerzy Gosławski|Gosławski]] & [[Adam Hyrniewicz|Hryniewicz]], 1993}} ''(ex errore)''
| synonyms_ref=<ref name="Fritz 2007">{{Cite journal |journal=Vertebrate Zoology |title=Checklist of Chelonians of the World |year=2007 |author=Fritz, Uwe |author2=Havaš, Peter |volume=57 |issue=2 |pages=223–224 |issn=1864-5755 |url=http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/851.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501060224/http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/851.pdf |archive-date=2011-05-01 |access-date=29 May 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}

The '''brahminy river turtle''' or '''crowned river turtle''' (''Hardella thurjii'') is a [[species]] of [[turtle]] in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Geoemydidae]]. The species is [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[South Asia]].

==Taxonomy==
The genus '''''Hardella''''', to which the species ''Hardella thurjii'' belongs, is a [[Monotypic taxon|monotypic]] genus.

==Geographic range==
''Hardella thurjii'' is found in northern [[India]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Bangladesh]] in the [[Drainage basin|watershed]]s of the [[Ganges]], [[Brahmaputra River|Brahmaputra]], and [[Indus River|Indus]] rivers.

==Description==
''Hardella thurjii'' has a shell with a large, moderately flat, dark brown or black [[carapace]] ([[Dorsum (anatomy)|dorsal surface]]) and a yellow or black [[plastron]] (ventral surface).<ref>[[George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger GA]] (1889). ''Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhynchocephalians, and Crocodiles in the British Museum (Natural History). New Edition.'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). x + 311 pp. + Plates I-VI. ASIN: B004QM945U, University of Toronto Libraries, 2001. (''Hardella thurgi'', pp. 63-66, Figures 18-19).</ref> The shell is up to {{convert|18|in}} in length in females, and is shorter in males.<ref>Boulenger GA (1890). ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia.'' London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (''Hardella thurgi'', pp. 36-37).</ref> The lower jaw is heavily dented.

==Sexual dimorphism==
''Hardella thurjii'' exhibits [[sexual dimorphism]]. Mature females are three times the size of mature males. According to [[:fr:Indraneil Das|Das]], maximum straight carapace length in females is {{convert|61|cm|in|abbr=on}}, but in males maximum straight carapace length is only {{convert|18|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref>Das 2002.</ref>

==Reproduction==
The reproductive habits of ''H. thurjii'' are unique among reptiles in that the females lay their eggs under water rather than on dry land. Their reproductive cycle follows seasonal changes in the water levels of the rivers in which they live. In autumn, females lay their eggs under water, where higher water levels submerge the eggs for 40 to 45 days. In the winter, lower water levels expose the eggs for five months. The rising water levels of spring submerge the almost mature eggs once again, and the turtles hatch in the river.

Indian zoologist [[Dhruvajyoti Basu]] first documented the unique reproductive habits of the brahminy river turtle in 2011. The [[Prague Zoo]] incubated the first brahminy river turtle which was born in captivity in 2012.<ref>{{cite journal|title= Screen Director: The largest turtle thriller.|journal= Journal of Natural Products|volume= 53|pages= 200–203|doi= 10.1021/np50067a032|year = 1990|last1 = Muñoz|first1 = Orlando M.|last2= Castillo|first2= M.|last3= Feliciano|first3= A. San}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

*{{NRDB species|genus=Hardella |species=thurjii }}

==Further reading==
*[[:fr:Indraneil Das|Das I]] (1984). "Record length of the Brahminy River Turtle ''Hardella thurjii ''". ''Hamadryad'' '''9''' (3): 18.
*Das I (2002). ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India''. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. {{ISBN|0-88359-056-5}}. (''Hardella thurjii'', p. 126).
*[[John Edward Gray|Gray JE]] (1831). ''Synopsis Reptilium; or Short Descriptions of the Species of Reptiles. Part I.—Cataphracta. Tortoises, Crocodiles, and Enaliosaurians.'' London: Treuttel, Wurtz, and Co. viii + 85 pp. (Diggens and Jones, printers). (''Emys thurjii'', new species, p. 22). (in English and Latin).
*[[Malcolm Arthur Smith|Smith MA]] (1931). ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. I.—Loricata, Testudines.'' London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xxviii + 128 pp. + Plates I-II. (''Hardella thurgi'', pp. 122–124 + Figure 4 facing p. 50).

{{Geoemydidae}}

{{Taxonbar|from1=Q596348|from2=Q14566135}}

[[Category:Hardella]]
[[Category:Reptiles of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Reptiles of India]]
[[Category:Turtles of Asia]]
[[Category:Reptiles described in 1831]]
[[Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray]]

Brahminy river turtle - Revision history

>Pvmoutside at 14:36, 23 April 2021