Rafetus

Rafetus Temporal range: 17.5–0  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N [1]
Rafetus swinhoei in Hanoi, Vietnam
Rafetus euphraticus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Trionychidae
Subfamily:	Trionychinae
Genus:	Rafetus Gray, 1864
Type species
Testudo euphratica Daudin, 1801
Species
R. euphraticus (Daudin, 1801) R. swinhoei (Gray, 1873) † R. bohemicus (Liebus, 1930)

Rafetus is a genus of highly endangered softshell turtles in the family Trionychidae. It is a genus of large turtles which are found in freshwater habitats in Eurasia.

Taxonomy

Skulls of † R. bohemicus (A-B), R. swinhoei (C-D), R. euphraticus (E-F)

Evolution

Phylogenetic evidence largely suggests that Rafetus is most closely related to the widespread North American genus Apalone . The two genera appear to have diverged during the Late Eocene, likely when the ancestors of Apalone dispersed into North America via Beringia. ^{[2] [3]}

Species

According to most taxonomists, the genus Rafetus contains the following two extant species.

• Rafetus euphraticus(Daudin, 1801) – Euphrates softshell turtle; Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Khūzestān Province of Iran. IUCN: Endangered. ^[4]
• Rafetus swinhoei(Gray, 1873) – Yangtze giant softshell turtle; Only three known living individuals, one in Suzhou Zoo (China) and two in two lakes in northern Vietnam, Dong Mo lake and Xuan Khanh lake. IUCN: Critically endangered. ^[5]

A possible third species, Rafetus leloiiHà, 2000 (synonym R. vietnamensisLe et al., 2010), known commonly as the Hoan Kiem turtle, has been proposed as a species. It is considered a junior synonym of Rafetus swinhoei by most authorities, ^[6] but some Vietnamese scientists insist the two forms are not identical. The last known individual at Hoan Kiem Lake was found dead on 19 January 2016. ^{[7] [8]}

An extinct species R. bohemicus Liebus, 1930 from the Burdigalian age of the Early Miocene (about 17.5 million years ago) lived in what is today the Czech Republic. ^[1]

Cladogram as drawn by Walter G. Joyce, Ariel Revan, Tyler R. Lyson, and Igor G. Danilov (2009) ^[9]

Trionychidae	Cyclanorbinae Cyclanorbis Cycloderma Lissemys †Plastomeninae Hutchemys Plastomenus Trionychinae Trionyx Chitra Pelochelys Apalone Rafetus Amyda Aspideretes Nilssonia Dogania Palea Pelodiscus

References

1. Chroust, M.; Mazuch, M.; Ivanov, M.; Alba, D. M.; Luján, À. H. (2023). "Redescription of the soft-shell turtle Rafetus bohemicus (Testudines, Trionychidae) from the Early Miocene of Czechia". PeerJ. 11. e15658. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15658 . PMC   10387236 . PMID   37525660.
2. Le, Minh; Duong, Ha T.; Dinh, Long D.; Nguyen, Truong Q.; Pritchard, Peter C. H.; McCormack, Timothy (2014-09-01). "A phylogeny of softshell turtles (Testudines: Trionychidae) with reference to the taxonomic status of the critically endangered, giant softshell turtle, Rafetus swinhoei" . Organisms Diversity & Evolution. 14 (3): 279–293. Bibcode:2014ODivE..14..279L. doi:10.1007/s13127-014-0169-3. ISSN   1618-1077.
3. Thomson, Robert C.; Spinks, Phillip Q.; Shaffer, H. Bradley (2021-02-16). "A global phylogeny of turtles reveals a burst of climate-associated diversification on continental margins". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 118 (7): e2012215118. Bibcode:2021PNAS..11812215T. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2012215118 . PMC   7896334 . PMID   33558231.
4. Ghaffari, H.; Taskavak, E.; Turkozan, O.; Mobaraki, A. (2017). "Rafetus euphraticus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T19070A1956551. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T19070A1956551.en . Retrieved 22 June 2025.
5. Fong, J.; Hoang, H.; Kuchling, G.; Li, P.; McCormack, T.; Rao, D.-Q.; Timmins, R.J.; Wang, L. (2021). "Rafetus swinhoei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T39621A2931537. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T39621A2931537.en . Retrieved 22 June 2025.
6. Farkas B; Webb RG (2003). "Rafetus leloii Hà Dinh Dúc, 2000 — an invalid species of softshell turtle from Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi, Vietnam (Reptilia, Testudines, Trionychidae)". Zool. Abhandl. 53. Dresden: 107–112.
7. "'Cụ' rùa Hồ Gươm đã chết". Pháp luật - tin pháp luật đời sống mới nhất 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-01-21. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
8. Ives, Mike (January 22, 2016). "Vietnam's Sacred Turtle Dies at an Awkward, Some Say Ominous, Time". The New York Times. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
9. Joyce, Walter G.; Revan, Ariel; Lyson, Tyler R.; Danilov, Igor G. (2009). "Two New Plastomenine Softshell Turtles from the Paleocene of Montana and Wyoming" (PDF). Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History. 50 (2): 307–325. Bibcode:2009BPMNH..50..307J. doi:10.3374/014.050.0202. S2CID   85505337.

External links

• Gray JE (1864). "Revision of the Species of Trionychidae found in Asia and Africa, with Descriptions of some New Species". Proc. Zool. Soc. London1864: 76–98. (Rafetus, new genus, p. 81).