Lesser Chinese softshell turtle

The lesser Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus parviformis) is a species of turtle in the family Trionychidae. 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). 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. Reptile Database commented that due to a lack of a revised diagnosis in this study, this species is still somewhat of unclear status. 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.

Species of turtle

Lesser Chinese softshell turtle
Conservation status
CITES Appendix II [1]
Scientific classification
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]

References

[edit]

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} "Pelodiscus parviformis | The Reptile Database". Retrieved 2023-12-17.
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. ^ Yang P, Tang YZ, Ding L, Guo XG, Wang YZ (2011). "Validity of Pelodiscus parviformis (Testudines: Trionychidae) Inferred from Molecular and Morphological Analyses". Asian Herpetological Research. 2 (1): 21–29. doi:10.3724/sp.j.1245.2011.00021.

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