Lesser Chinese softshell turtle

Lesser Chinese softshell turtle
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Family: Trionychidae
Genus: Pelodiscus
Species:
P. parviformis
Binomial name
Pelodiscus parviformis
Tang, 1997[2]

The lesser Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus parviformis) is a species of turtle in the family Trionychidae.[3] It is endemic to China, where it inhabits a small range in Guangxi and Hunan provinces. Populations of this species in Vietnam and Hainan are now considered to belong to a separate species, the spotted softshell turtle (P. variegatus).[4][5]

There is some controversy within researchers over whether or not P. parviformis is a valid species. Yang et al. (2011) deemed it a valid species.[6] Reptile Database commented that due to a lack of a revised diagnosis in this study, this species is still somewhat of unclear status.[3]

It has been proposed that this species be considered as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to its restricted range and the heavy level of exploitation it receives.[4]

  1. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  2. ^ Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter. (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 319. doi:10.3897/vz.57.e30895. ISSN 1864-5755.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Reptile Database P parviformis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Fritz, Uwe; Ong, An Vinh; Pham, Cuong The; Ziegler, Thomas; Farkas, Balázs (2019-02-13). "A new species of Pelodiscus from northeastern Indochina (Testudines, Trionychidae)". ZooKeys (824): 71–86. Bibcode:2019ZooK..824...71F. doi:10.3897/zookeys.824.31376. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 6382751. PMID 30799973.
  5. ^ Rhodin, Anders G.J. (2021-11-15). Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (9th Ed.). Chelonian Research Monographs. Vol. 8. Chelonian Research Foundation and Turtle Conservancy. doi:10.3854/crm.8.checklist.atlas.v9.2021. ISBN 978-0-9910368-3-7. S2CID 244279960.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Yang et al 2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).