First Report of Occurrence and Conservation Status of Black Softshell Turtle, Nilssonia nigricans (Anderson 1875) (Reptilia: Testudines: Trionychidae) in West Bengal, India

The study reports the first record of the Black softshell turtle, Nilssonia nigricans (Anderson in Ann Mag Nat Hist 16:282–285, 1875), a species categorised as “Extinct in the Wild” category by IUCN ( http://www.iucnredlist.org/ , 2002 ) from a locality in West Bengal (Baneswar village, District Cooch Behar, West Bengal; 26° 23.912′ N, 089° 29.872′ E). The study conducted during January, 2017 to January, 2020 found the species to occur in a protected temple pond and several other ponds in the locality. The mean Straight Carapace Length (SCL) and the mean Straight Carapace Width (SCW) of adult turtles were 47.3 ± 10.11 and 37.66 ± 4.24 respectively, whereas the mean SCL and SCW of juveniles were 13.5 ± 6.36 and 12 ± 4.24 respectively. The species is omnivorous in feeding habit. It enjoys local community protection. Further conservation efforts are required to save this local population from future extinction due to urbanization pressure.