A new species of turtle had been discovered in Matimarika village coming under a Tiger Reserve in the district.
The turtle identified as ‘lane Star Tighter’ is generally found in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The turtle was handed over by a Matimarika villager to the Forest department officials here. The turtle found in the village is vegetarian in nature and a similar breed of species was found in the Indravati Park earlier in the district.
The Forest officials brought the turtle to Jagdalpur and later released it in the Indravati National Park.
The turtle was found by a villager when he was passing through a forest who handed it over to the forest department officials.
Professor of Zoology Department of Bijapur PG College, Dr Sushil Dutta, informed that there are two to three kinds of species of turtles found in Bastar region.
The turtle found in Bijapur is found in abundance in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, he said. Since Bijapur borders Andhra Pradesh, the turtle found in the district was found near a water body, Dr Dutta said. “This turtle is different from other species as it has bright yellow lines on its outer side and males are smaller than the females,” he said.