In India, 30 species of tortoises and turtles have been recorded so far, out of which the northeastern region has 22 species (Das & Gupta 2015), including Cyclemys gemeli. This species, however, has never been reported to occur in the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya, which comprise the state of Sikkim, and the hilly regions of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal, India, which is an integral part of the eastern Himalaya. Historically, four species, namely, Melanochelys tricarinata, M. trijuga, Indotestudo elongata, and Lissemys punctata have been reported to occur here (Smith 1931), of which Indotestudo elongata and Lissemys punctata andersoni have been recorded in the present-day Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya (Jha 2009; Pradhan & Yonle 2019). Cyclemys gemeli, commonly known as the Assam Leaf Turtle is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 in India, but has not been assessed by IUCN. It is currently listed in CITES under Appendix II. It was first described from Assam, and is the only species to be reported in India under Cyclemys (Ahmed & Das 2010). This species has been known to occur in Uttar Pradesh (near the Nepal border), northeastern India (Fritz et al. 2008), including Nepal (Rai 2004), Bangladesh (Kabir et al.2009), and southeastern Bhutan (Wangyal et al. 2012). This species prefers large rivers and its oxbows, fast flowing creeks, and leaf litter of evergreen forest (Praschag et al. 2009).