''Rafetus'' is a
genus of highly endangered
softshell turtles in the
family Trionychidae. It is a genus of large turtles which are found in freshwater habitats in
Asia.
Species
According to most
taxonomists, the genus ''Rafetus'' contains the following two
species.
*''Rafetus euphraticus'' –
Euphrates softshell turtle
*''Rafetus swinhoei'' –
Yangtze giant softshell turtle
A third species, ''Rafetus leloii'' (
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
''R. vietnamensis'' ), known
commonly as the
Hoan Kiem turtle
The Hoàn Kiếm turtle, also ''Rafetus leloii'', was an obsolete or controversial taxon of turtle from Southeast Asia, based on specimens from Hoàn Kiếm Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam. Most experts classify this turtle as synonymous with the rare ...
, has been proposed as a species. It is considered a
junior synonym
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.
* In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...
of ''Rafetus swinhoei'' by most authorities, but some Vietnamese scientists insist the two forms are not identical. The last known individual at Hoan Kiem Lake was found dead on 19 January 2016.
Taxonomy
Cladogram
As drawn by Walter G. Joyce, Ariel Revan, Tyler R. Lyson, and Igor G. Danilov (2009)
Distribution
* ''
Rafetus euphraticus
The Euphrates softshell turtle (''Rafetus euphraticus''), also known as the Mesopotamian softshell turtle, is a species of softshell turtle in the family Trionychidae. It is found throughout much of the Euphrates–Tigris river basin in Iraq, ...
'': had been found at
Tigris and
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
Rivers in
Iraq,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Turkey, and
Khūzestān Province of
Iran. The
International Union for Conservation of Nature rates it as
Endangered.
* ''
Rafetus swinhoei
The Yangtze giant softshell turtle (''Rafetus swinhoei''), also known as the Red River giant softshell turtle, the Shanghai softshell turtle, the speckled softshell turtle, and Swinhoe's softshell turtle, is an extremely rare species of turtle i ...
'': Only three known living individuals, one in Suzhou Zoo (China) and two in two lakes in northern Vietnam, Dong Mo lake and Xuan Khanh lake. IUCN rates it as
critically endangered.
References
External links
*
Gray JE (1864)
"Revision of the Species of Trionychidae found in Asia and Africa, with Descriptions of some New Species" ''Proc. Zool. Soc. London'' 1864: 76–98. (''Rafetus'', new genus, p. 81).
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1930722
Turtle genera
Taxa named by John Edward Gray
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot