Pelodiscus

Pelodiscus
Pelodiscus sinensis,
Chinese softshell turtle
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Family: Trionychidae
Subfamily: Trionychinae
Genus: Pelodiscus
Fitzinger, 1835[1]
Species

See text

Pelodiscus is a genus of turtles in the family Trionychidae, the softshells.[1] Based on genetic and morphological analysis there are seven valid species.[3] They are native to Eastern Asia, ranging from the Amur region, south through China and Korea, as far south as Vietnam.[4] Populations in Japan are thought to likely originate from historic human introductions.[3]

Phylogenetic studies have recovered a high diversity of Pelodiscus genotypes in China, some of which may correspond to distinct species. However, the millennia-old practice of farming Pelodiscus for consumption, especially in large-scale turtle farms since the late 20th century, is thought to threaten these lineages due to hybridization with farmed individuals.[5]

  1. ^ a b Rhodin et al. 2010, pp. 000.127-8
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ a b 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. Chelonian Research Foundation and Turtle Conservancy. ISBN 978-0-9910368-3-7.
  4. ^ Farkas, B.; Ziegler, T.; Pham, C.T.; Ong, A.V.; Fritz, U. (2019). "A new species of Pelodiscus from northeastern Indochina (Testudines, Trionychidae)". ZooKeys (824): 71–86. doi:10.3897/zookeys.824.31376. PMC 6382751. PMID 30799973.
  5. ^ Gong, Shiping; Vamberger, Melita; Auer, Markus; Praschag, Peter; Fritz, Uwe (2018-05-04). "Millennium-old farm breeding of Chinese softshell turtles (Pelodiscus spp.) results in massive erosion of biodiversity". The Science of Nature. 105 (5): 34. doi:10.1007/s00114-018-1558-9. ISSN 1432-1904.