60 JUNE 2015 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG The Indian flapshell turtle Lissemys punctata is a common species of turtle found throughout the freshwater aquaculture areas of Andhra Pradesh, India. There are three subspecies of Indian flapshell turtle in India: Lissemys punctata punctata, Lissemys punctata vittata and Lissemys punctata andersoni (Bupathy et al. 2014). Among the three sub-species, the first two listed are common in Andhra Pradesh. The Indian flapshell turtle is abundant in most suitable habitats in India; it is proposed that its global conservation status on the IUCN Red List (2014) be retained as a species of Least Concern (LC, assessed 2000) and, in the TFTSG Draft Red List, it is also proposed to be of Least Concern (LC, assessed 2011). Freshwater Indian Flapshell Turtle: A Menace in Freshwater Aquaculture Ponds of Andhra Pradesh, India D.L. Prabu and M. Kavitha Food and Feeding Habits This turtle plays an eminent role in freshwater ecosystems by feeding on various aquatic animals, such as freshwater crab larvae, snails, insects, dead animal and plant materials, thus providing a valuable service as scavengers (Hossain and Sarker 1993, Rao 1986). If numbers in ponds are low, freshwater turtles are valuable animals because they kill diseased and weakened fish and clean up dead or decaying animal matter (Fowler and Avery 1994). However, usually it is considered a nuisance species in freshwater aquaculture ponds because it invades and creates serious problems and financial losses during fish grow-out. The flapshell turtle is an opportunistic, omnivorous or FIGURE 1. Indian flap shell turtle Lissemys punctata vittata
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