Lesser Chinese softshell turtle

Lesser Chinese softshell turtle
Conservation status
CITES Appendix II  [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Trionychidae
Genus:	Pelodiscus
Species:	P. parviformis
Binomial name
Pelodiscus parviformis Tang, 1997 [2]

The lesser Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus parviformis) is a species of turtle in the family Trionychidae. ^[3] It is endemic to China, where it inhabits a small range in Guangxi and Hunan provinces. Populations of this species in Vietnam and Hainan are now considered to belong to a separate species, the spotted softshell turtle (P. variegatus). ^{[4] [5]}

There is some controversy within researchers over whether or not P. parviformis is a valid species. Yang et al. (2011) deemed it a valid species. ^[6] Reptile Database commented that due to a lack of a revised diagnosis in this study, this species is still somewhat of unclear status. ^[3]

It has been proposed that this species be considered as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to its restricted range and the heavy level of exploitation it receives. ^[4]

References

1. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
2. Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter. (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2): 319. doi: 10.3897/vz.57.e30895 . ISSN   1864-5755.
3. "Pelodiscus parviformis | The Reptile Database" . Retrieved 2023-12-17.
4. Fritz, Uwe; Ong, An Vinh; Pham, Cuong The; Ziegler, Thomas; Farkas, Balázs (2019-02-13). "A new species of Pelodiscus from northeastern Indochina (Testudines, Trionychidae)". ZooKeys (824): 71–86. Bibcode:2019ZooK..824...71F. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.824.31376 . ISSN   1313-2970. PMC   6382751 . PMID   30799973.
5. Rhodin, Anders G.J. (2021-11-15). Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (9th Ed.). Chelonian Research Monographs. Vol. 8. Chelonian Research Foundation and Turtle Conservancy. doi:10.3854/crm.8.checklist.atlas.v9.2021. ISBN   978-0-9910368-3-7. S2CID   244279960.
6. Yang P, Tang YZ, Ding L, Guo XG, Wang YZ (2011). "Validity of Pelodiscus parviformis (Testudines: Trionychidae) Inferred from Molecular and Morphological Analyses". Asian Herpetological Research. 2 (1): 21–29. doi: 10.3724/sp.j.1245.2011.00021 .