An incredibly rare Indian winged turtle with a white shell and striking pink eyes has been discovered around a lake in South India. The discovery, published in the journal Reptiles and Amphibians
, was made by photographers Manoj Kumar Vittapu and Shravan Kumar Poshetty of this baby turtle in August 2021 in a forested area of Şirinepally, Nizamabad District, Telangana. The turtle has been reportedly spotted near a freshwater pond.
Although the turtle is only 4 centimeters by 3 centimeters in size, it immediately attracts attention due to its lack of pigment. The photographer couple gave their photo of the turtle to Buddi Laxmi Narayana, curator of Nehru Zoo in Hyderabad. Narayana confirmed that the animal is a rare specimen of the albino Indian winged turtle.