Wattle-necked softshell turtle facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wattle-necked softshell turtle
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Palea
Species:	steindachneri
Synonyms
Aspidonectes californiana Rivers, 1889 (nomen suppressum) Pelodiscus californianus — Baur, 1893 Aspidonectes californiensis [sic] O.P. Hay, 1904 (ex errore) Trionyx steindachneri Siebenrock, 1906 (nomen conservandum) Amyda steindachneri — K.P. Schmidt, 1927 Palea steindachneri — Meylan, 1987 Trionix steindachneri — Richard, 1999 Pelodiscus steindachneri — Pritchard, 2001 Palea steindachneri — Ziegler, 2002

The wattle-necked softshell turtle (Palea steindachneri), also commonly known as Steindachner's soft-shelled turtle, is an endangered Asian species of softshell turtle in the family Trionychidae. The species is the only member of the genus Palea.

Description

P. steindachneri exhibits sexual dimorphism. Females of this freshwater turtle reach up to 44.5 cm (17.5 in) in straight carapace length, while males only reach up to 36 cm (14 in). However, males have a longer tail than the females.

Etymology

The specific name, steindachneri, is in honor of Austrian herpetologist Franz Steindachner.

Geographic range

P. steindachneri is native to southeastern China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Yunnan), Laos, and Vietnam, but has also been introduced to Hawaii and Mauritius.

Threats

P. steindachneri is endangered by poaching for human consumption. Although pressure on the wild population continues, several thousand are hatched and raised each year on turtle farms in China and Vietnam for food and traditional medicine.

• Meylan PA (1987). "The Phylogenetic Relationships of Soft-shelled Turtles (Family Trionychidae)". Bull. American Mus. Nat. Hist. 186 (1): 1-100. (Palea, new genus, p. 94).
• Siebenrock F (1906). "Zur Kenntnis der Schildkrötenfauna der Insel Hainan ". Zoologischer Anzeiger 30: 578-586. (Trionyx steindachneri, new species, pp. 579–581). (in German).