Amur softshell turtle

Amur softshell turtle
Conservation status
	CITES Appendix II
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Trionychidae
Genus:	Pelodiscus
Species:	P. maackii
Binomial name
	Pelodiscus maackii; (Brandt, 1857)
Synonyms
	Trionyx maackii; Brandt, 1857; Amyda maackii; — Stejneger, 1907; Trionyx maachii; Stanley, 1914 (ex errore); Trionyx maaki; Chkhikvadze, 1987 (ex errore); Pelodiscus maackii; — David, 1994;

The Amur softshell turtle (Pelodiscus maackii), also commonly known as the northern Chinese softshell turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Trionychidae. The species is native to Asia.

Geographic range

Pelodiscus maackii is found in the Russian Far East, northeastern China, Korea, and Japan. It is possible that the Japanese populations are the result of ancient introductions by humans.

Description

An aquatic species, Pelodiscus maackii may attain a straight carapace length of 32.5 cm (1.1 ft).

Breeding

In China specifically, the breeding of the closely related Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) has been done for over 2,400 years, and the production has come to 340,000 annually due to the demand.

Etymology

The specific name, maackii, is in honor of Russian naturalist Richard Maack.

References

↑ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
↑ Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 318–319. doi:10.3897/vz.57.e30895. ISSN 1864-5755.
1 2 Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Pelodiscus maackii, p. 164).
1 2 Rhodin, A.G.J.; Iverson, J.B.; Bour, R.; Fritz, U.; Georges, A.; Shaffer, H.B.; van Dijk, P.P.; (Turtle Taxonomy Working Group) (2017). Rhodin, A.G.J.; Iverson, J.B.; van Dijk, P.P.; Saumure, R.A.; Buhlmann, K.A.; Pritchard, P.C.H.; Mittermeier, R.A. (eds.). "Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status" (PDF). Chelonian Research Monographs. Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. 7 (8 ed.): 1–292. doi:10.3854/crm.7.checklist.atlas.v8.2017. ISBN 9781532350269. S2CID 89826255. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-02-13.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
↑ "Chinese Soft-shell Turtle". Ecology Asia. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
↑ Gong, Shiping; Vamberger, Melita; Auer, Markus; Praschag, Peter; Fritz, Uwe (2018-05-04). "Millennium-old farm breeding of Chinese softshell turtles (Pelodiscus spp.) results in massive erosion of biodiversity". The Science of Nature. 105 (5): 34. Bibcode:2018SciNa.105...34G. doi:10.1007/s00114-018-1558-9. ISSN 1432-1904. PMID 29728774. S2CID 13681962.