Chinese Softshell Turtle

Chinese Softshell Turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) is an aquatic turtle with a flattened flexible shell lacking the hard scutes of pond and sea turtles, a long mobile neck and a tubular snorkel-like snout. These features distinguish Pelodiscus from the hard-shelled Mauremys species. Identification should combine the documented shell or scale characters with locality, because related reptiles can be similar. All claims are limited to the species accounts opened for this batch (Wikipedia, general species account; Reptile Database).

Its native range is mainland China and Taiwan, while escaped or introduced populations occur widely elsewhere. Populations in north-eastern China, Russia, Korea and Japan once included under this name are now treated as separate Pelodiscus maackii, making locality and current taxonomy essential when interpreting Japanese records (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records). Details not supported at species level are omitted rather than supplied from related reptiles. Japanese occurrence follows the site's catalogue and the cited distribution information, without using any IUCN conservation material (Wikipedia, general species account; Reptile Database).