Occurrence and habitat type of seven non marine chelonian species in some parts of Odisha , India

Seasonal investigation on seven species of fresh water turtles was done from July 2013 to June 2014 in some parts of Odisha. Analysis of variance with three factors as place, species and season showed significant differences among themselves F = 2852.1,198.61 and 509.38,P ≤ 0.01). Seasonally the four species of turtles like Lissemys punctata, Nilsonia gangeticus, Chitra indica and Pangshura tentoria were observed abundantly in basking condition along riverbank of Mahanadi in Cuttack district during winter whereas another three species Melanochelys tricarinata, Melanochelys trijuga, Geochelone elegans were reported in grassland of Gajapati district. The present investigation concluded that except Lissemys punctata all other species were very few in number and either threatened or vulnerable (IUCN Redlist) due to poaching, habitat destruction and climate change and there is an urgent need of conservation and management.