Pelodiscus

Pelodiscus
Pelodiscus sinensis, Chinese softshell turtle
Conservation status
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific 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]

• Pelodiscus axenaria (Zhou, Zhang & Fang, 1991) — Hunan softshell turtle^[1]
• Pelodiscus huangshanensis Gong, Peng, Huang, & Nie, 2021 — Huangshan softshell turtle, horse-hoof softshell turtle^[6]
• Pelodiscus maackii (Brandt, 1857) — Amur softshell turtle, northern Chinese softshell turtle^[1]
• Pelodiscus parviformis Tang, 1997 — lesser Chinese softshell turtle^[1]
• Pelodiscus shipian Gong, Fritz, Vamberger, Gao & Farkas, 2022 — Chinese stone slab softshell turtle^[7]
• Pelodiscus sinensis (Wiegmann, 1835) — Chinese softshell turtle^[1]
• Pelodiscus variegatus Farkas et al., 2019 — spotted softshell turtle^[4]

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

• Fitzinger, L. (1835). "Entwurf einer systematischen Anordnung der Schildkröten nach den Grundsätzen der natürlichen Methode". Annalen des Wiener Museums der Naturgeschichte. 1: 105–128. (Pelodiscus, new genus, p. 120. (in German and Latin).
• Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Iverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Roger, Bour (2010-12-14). "Turtles of the World 2010 Update: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution and Conservation Status" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2010-12-15.