Indian Roofed turtle - Turtle scute shedding, in Rajasthan

From the archive record

Head up, an Indian Roofed Turtle sits on a tree trunk at the edge of the water body inside Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan. Layers of skin-like tissue appear to cover the shell of this turtle. The flaking of the shell or scute- shedding and is a common phenomenon in turtles. The top-most layer of the shell sheds off piece by piece to be replaced by new ones. This is an adaptive tactic to prevent parasitic infections and rot due to too much time underwater. Named as the roofed turtle for its distinct roof-like carapace or outer covering in the middle of it back, it is a freshwater turtle which is mostly found in slow-moving freshwater streams and even man-made tanks. They are common in India. This footage is part of the broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the