Pelodiscus

Pelodiscus is a genus of turtles in the family Trionychidae, the softshells.^[2] 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]

Pelodiscus
Pelodiscus sinensis, Chinese softshell turtle
Conservation status
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Trionychidae
Subfamily:	Trionychinae
Genus:	Pelodiscus Fitzinger, 1835[2]
Species
See text

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]

Species

The following species are recognized by the Reptile Database:^[6]

• Pelodiscus axenaria (Zhou, Zhang & Fang, 1991) — Hunan softshell turtle^[2]
• Pelodiscus huangshanensis Y. Gong, Peng, S. Huang, Lin, R. Huang, Xu, Yang & Nie, 2021 — Huangshan softshell turtle, horse-hoof softshell turtle^[7] (potentially synonymous with P. axenaria)^[8]
• Pelodiscus huike Liu, Fu, Ma, Zhou, Blanck, Zhou, Xiao & Mo, 2024 — Chinese gray softshell turtle^[8]
• Pelodiscus maackii (Brandt, 1857) — Amur softshell turtle, northern Chinese softshell turtle^[2]
• Pelodiscus parviformis Tang, 1997 — lesser Chinese softshell turtle^[2]
• Pelodiscus shipian S. Gong, Fritz, Vamberger, Gao & Farkas, 2022 — Chinese stone slab softshell turtle^[9] (potentially synonymous with P. axenaria)^[8]
• Pelodiscus sinensis (Wiegmann, 1835) — Chinese softshell turtle^[2]
• Pelodiscus variegatus Farkas, Ziegler, Pham, Ong & Fritz, 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.