Yangtze giant softshell turtle
Critically endangered species of turtle / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei), also known commonly 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 in the family Trionychidae. It may be the largest living freshwater turtle in the world. The species is native to eastern and southern China and northern Vietnam. Only two or three living individuals are known: one in China (captive) and one or two in Vietnam (wild).[4] Following the deaths of a wild individual in Vietnam in January 2016 and a captive individual in China in 2019, the species is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List. The female of the last breeding pair died at Suzhou Zoo in China in April 2019.[5][6][7] A wild female was discovered in Vietnam on October 22, 2020, and another individual is believed to have been sighted in the same area; however, this last wild female was found dead in early 2023.[8][9][4][10]
Yangtze giant softshell turtle | |
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One of the two R. swinhoei of Dong Mo, Son Tay, Vietnam | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Cryptodira |
Family: | Trionychidae |
Genus: | Rafetus |
Species: | R. swinhoei |
Binomial name | |
Rafetus swinhoei (Gray, 1873) | |
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Yangtze giant softshell turtle range | |
Synonyms[3] | |
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