Narrow-headed soft-shelled Turtle

Open encyclopedia reference

The Indian narrow-headed softshell turtle (Chitra indica), also known commonly as the small-headed softshell turtle and the Indo-Gangetic softshell turtle, is an endangered species of softshell turtle in the family Trionychidae. The species is native to waterways and rivers of the Indian subcontinent. One of the largest freshwater turtles, it feeds on fish, frogs, worms, crustaceans and molluscs, and even the occasional swimming rodent or other small mammal. C. indica, like other softshell turtles, uses it flexible and leathery shell to dig itself deep into sandy lake and river bottoms; here, it patiently waits, with just its nose, mouth and eyes exposed, for potential prey to swim by. It will also ambush and chase its prey, depending on availability, the time of year, and size of the prey. In the past it was included as a subspecies of Chitra chitra, a species restricted to Southeast Asia using current taxonomy.

Wikipedia contributors, Indian narrow-headed softshell turtle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:24:57.065371+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Chitra indica (Gray, 1831)

Name authority

(Gray, 1831)

Common name

Narrow-headed soft-shelled Turtle

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Testudines

Family

Trionychidae

Genus

Chitra

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
9. orderTestudines Batsch, 1788
10. suborderCryptodira
11. superfamilyTrionychoidea
12. familyTrionychidae
13. genusChitra
14. speciesChitra indica (Gray, 1831)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Chitra. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 25 records assigned to Trionychidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Chitra&species=indica Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:5Y7S7. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.