High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Black Soft-shelled Turtle or Bostami Turtle is a species of freshwater turtle found in India Assam and Bangladesh Chittagong. It was for long believed to be inbred individuals of the Ganges Soft-shelled Turtle A. gangeticus or N. gangeticus or the Peacock Soft-shelled Turtle, but while it is a close relative of the latter it is a distinct species. The Bayazid Bastami shrine with its pond Originally native to the lower Brahmaputra River, the only population ever reliably known consists of 150-300 turtles in a manmade pond which is part of the Hazrat Sultan Bayazid Bastami also transliterated Bostami or Bustami shrine at Chittagong, where they are dependent on humans for survival. To the locals and worshippers, the Black Soft-shelled Turtle is known as mazari, specimens from this shrine were used in the first scientific description. The shrine's caretakers the Mazar Committee protect the turtle population, but will not allow specimensto be taken anymore, regardless of whether they would be killed or used for reintroduction into the wild.