The Malayan softshell turtle (''Dogania subplana'') is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
softshell turtle
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 ...
in the family
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 ...
. It is
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...
in its
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 ...
.
Geographic range
It is found in
Brunei
Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
Java
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
,
Kalimantan
Kalimantan (; ) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Ind ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
,
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
, the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
,
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...
,
Sarawak
Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...
,
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, and
Sumatra
Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
.
[Das, Indraneil. 2006. ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Borneo''. Ralph Curtis Books. Sanibel Island, Florida. 144 pp. . ( (''Dogania subplana'') p. 136.)]
Description
Adults may attain a
carapace
A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the unde ...
length of 35 cm (13.7 in). The head is large and muscular. The carapace is flat, and has straight sides. Juveniles are reddish on the sides of the neck, and have a few round black spots (ocelli) on the carapace. These markings become obscure as the turtles age.
This
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 ...
is a medium to dark brown-green. The nose is long and tapered as with members of the family, Trionychidae. It has eight pairs of
pleuralia.
JCVI.org
(Retrieved Feb 23, 2010.)
Habitat
''D. subplana'' prefers to live in the clean running water which is found in rocky streams at higher elevations.
Diet
It feeds on snail
A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...
s and other mollusc
Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...
s, crushing their shells with its powerful jaws.
References
;Bibliography
*
Further reading
* Alderton, D. 1988. Turtles and tortoises of the world. Facts on File, New York.
* Auliya, M. 2006. ''Taxonomy, Life History, and conservation of giant reptiles in west Kalimantan''. Natur und Tier Verlag, Münster, 432 pp.
* Baur, G. 1893. Notes on the classification and taxonomy of the Testudinata. Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 31: 210–225.
* Boulenger, G.A. 1889. ''Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhynchocephalians, and Crocodiles in the British Museum (Natural History)''. British Museum, London, 311 pp.
* Chan-ard, T.; Grossmann, W.; Gumprecht, A. & Schulz, K.D. 1999. ''Amphibians and reptiles of peninsular Malaysia and Thailand - an illustrated checklist''. ilingual English and German Bushmaster Publications, Würselen, Germany, 240 pp.
* Cox, Merel J.; Van Dijk, Peter Paul; Nabhitabhata, Jarujin & Thirakhupt, Kumthorn. 1998. ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand''. Ralph Curtis Publishing, 144 pp. .
* Ernst, C.H. and Barbour, R.W. 1989. ''Turtles of the World''. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. - London.
* Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, E. 1809. ''Mémoire sur les tortues molles''. Nouv. Bull. soc. Philom. Paris 1 (22): 363–367.
* Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, E. 1809. ''Sur les tortues molles, nouveau genre sous le nom de Trionyx, et sur la formation des carapaces''. Ann. Mus. Hist. nat. Paris 14: 1-20 1
* Gray, J.E. 1863. Notice of a new species of Dogania from Asia. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (3) 12: 158–159.
* Gray, J.E. 1856. ''Catalogue of Shield Reptiles in the Collection of the British Museum. Part I. Testudinata (Tortoises)''. British Museum, London, 79 pp. 855
__NOTOC__
Year 855 (Roman numerals, DCCCLV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* November 20 – Theoktistos, co-regent of the Empire on behalf of 15-year old Emperor Mi ...
* Grossmann, W. & Tillack, F. 2001. ''Bemerkungen zur Herpetofauna des Khao Lak, Phang Nga, thailändische Halbinsel. Teil III: Ergebnisse der Jahre 1999 und 2000''. Sauria 23 (3): 21–34.
Hendrickson, J.R. 1966. Observations on the fauna of Pulau Tioman and Pulau Tulai. 5. The Reptiles. Bull. Nat. Mus. Singapore 34: 53–71.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2078114
Dogania
Turtles of Asia
Reptiles of Southeast Asia
Reptiles of Indonesia
Reptiles of Malaysia
Reptiles of the Philippines
Reptiles of Borneo
Taxa named by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
Reptiles described in 1809
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot