''Pelodiscus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Trionychidae Trionychidae is a family of turtles, commonly known as softshell turtles or simply softshells. The family was described by Leopold Fitzinger in 1826. Softshells include some of the world's largest freshwater turtles, though many can adapt to li ...

, the softshells. Based on genetic and morphological analysis there are seven valid species. They are native to Eastern Asia, ranging from the

Amur The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer Manchuria, Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ...

region, south through

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, as far south as

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. Populations in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

are thought to likely originate from historic human introductions.

Phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

studies have recovered a high diversity of ''Pelodiscus''

genotype The genotype of an organism is its complete set of genetic material. Genotype can also be used to refer to the alleles or variants an individual carries in a particular gene or genetic location. The number of alleles an individual can have in a ...

s 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 farm Turtle farming is the practice of raising turtles and tortoises of various species commercially. Raised animals are sold for use as gourmet food, traditional medicine ingredients, or as pets. Some farms also sell young animals to other farms, ei ...

s since the late 20th century, is thought to threaten these lineages due to hybridization with farmed individuals.

Species

*'' Pelodiscus axenaria'' — Hunan softshell turtle *'' Pelodiscus huangshanensis'' — Huangshan softshell turtle, horse-hoof softshell turtle *'' Pelodiscus maackii'' — Amur softshell turtle, northern Chinese softshell turtle *'' Pelodiscus parviformis'' — lesser Chinese softshell turtle *'' Pelodiscus shipian'' ''—'' Chinese stone slab softshell turtle *''

Pelodiscus sinensis The Chinese softshell turtle (''Pelodiscus sinensis'') is a species of softshell turtle that is native to mainland China (Inner Mongolia to Guangxi, including Hong Kong) and Taiwan, with records of escapees—some of which have established Intro ...

'' — Chinese softshell turtle *'' Pelodiscus variegatus'' — spotted softshell turtle ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': In the above list, a binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Pelodiscus''.

Species

References

Further reading