Rare Yellow Turtle Found In India With A Banana-Like Color

A golden flapshell turtle has been found in India, it has a vivid, sun-like, egg yolk-like, banana-like color. If you are wondering, the color of this turtle isn’t created by the environment, its food, or flora. According to Science Alert, this is the second yellow turtle of its type to be discovered in the country over the past few months.

While the color is confusing to many, it’s actually not uncommon among turtles of this kind. The one in question was discovered in a fishing spree, which has got a lot of attention from internet users due to its flashy coloring.

Officially known as Lissemys punctate, the Indian flapshell turtle is typically brown featuring yellow spots. Sometimes, however, they come out as yellow. This kind of turtle is common South Asia and has been spotted in the full yellow body several times across the region.

When the turtle is yellow, it stands out with zero camouflage coverage. Yellow turtles do not blend in with anything from their natural habitat at all.

Previously, in the summer, a golden flapshell turtle was found in Odisha, India, and its images went viral on Twitter. Science Alert reported that another one was discovered in Nepal.

On October 27, another yellow flapshell turtle was found, also in India. Its pictures were all over Twitter.

The reason why this turtle has such a baffling color is probably albinism, which is the lack of pigmentation in the body. Albinism in humans appears as entirely white and turtle’s albinism comes out as yellow. It’s not rare to find yellow turtles due to albinism but experts say this is quite uncommon.

When flapshell turtles are caught, it’s hard to relocate them, as explained by herpetologist Sneha Dharwadkar on her Twitter post, who wrote that there needs to be an alternative for relocating flapshells. She said:

“It's almost impossible to relocate flapshells because 1) they are found in most water bodies...2) Most places have fishing.”

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