Amur softshell turtle

Not to be confused with the Chinese softshell turtle or the lesser Chinese softshell turtle.

The Amur softshell turtle^[3] (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.

Amur softshell turtle
Conservation status
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Trionychidae
Genus:	Pelodiscus
Species:	P. maackii
Binomial name
Pelodiscus maackii (Brandt, 1857)
Synonyms [2]
Trionyx maackii Brandt, 1857 Amyda maackii — Stejneger, 1907 Trionyx maachii Stanley, 1914 (ex errore) Trionyx maaki Chkhikvadze, 1987 (ex errore) Pelodiscus maackii — David, 1994

Geographic range

Pelodiscus maackii is found in the Russian Far East, northeastern China, Korea, and Japan.^[4] It is possible that the Japanese populations are the result of ancient introductions by humans.^[4]

Description

An aquatic species, Pelodiscus maackii may attain a straight carapace length of 32.5 cm (1.1 ft).^[5]

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.^[6]

Etymology

The specific name, maackii, is in honor of Russian naturalist Richard Maack.^[3]