Asian giant softshell turtle: Difference between revisions

| status = EN

| status_system = IUCN2.3

| status_ref = <ref name="redlist">{{cite iucn | author =Asian Turtle Trade Working Group | title = ''Pelochelys cantorii '' | volume=2016 | page =e.T16502A97400946  | year =2016 }}</ref><ref name="Rhodin2017">{{cite journal |url=http://images.turtleconservancy.org/documents/2017/crm-7-checklist-atlas-v8-2017.pdf |title=Turtles of the world, 2017 update: Annotated checklist and atlas of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution, and conservation status(8th Ed.)|journal=Chelonian Research Monographs |volume=7 |access-date=October 4, 2019|date=August 3, 2017 |last1=Rhodin | first1=Anders G.J. |last2=Inverson |first2=John B. |last3=Roger |first3=Bour |last4=Fritz |first4=Uwe |last5=Georges |first5=Arthur |last6=Shaffer |first6=H. Bradley |last7=van Dijk |first7=Peter Paul |isbn=978-1-5323-5026-9}}</ref>

| authority = [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1864<ref name="redlist" /><ref name="Rhodin2017" />

| synonyms_ref = <ref name="Fritz07">{{cite journal|journal=Vertebrate Zoology |title=Checklist of Chelonians of the World |year=2007 |first=Uwe |last=Fritz |author2=Havaš, Peter |volume=57 |issue=2 |url=http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/851.pdf |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5v20ztMND?url=http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/851.pdf |archive-date=2010-12-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The '''Asian giant softshell turtle''' (''Pelochelys cantorii''),<ref name="redlist" /><ref name="Rhodin2017" /> also known as '''Cantor's giant softshell turtle'''<ref name="Rhodin2017" /> and the '''frog-faced softshell turtle''', is a [[species]] of [[freshwater]] [[turtle]] in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Trionychidae]]. The species is native to [[Southeast Asia]]. It has been considered{{by whom|date=August 2017}}{{clarify|date=August 2017}} to be among the largest extant freshwater turtles. The species is endangered and in the 20th century has disappeared from much of its former range.

The species is not found in [[New Guinea]], while the two other members of the genus ''[[Pelochelys]]'', ''[[New Guinea giant softshell turtle|P. bibroni]]'' and ''[[Pelochelys signifera|P. signifera]]'' are both restricted to New Guinea.<ref name="Rhodin2017" /> ''P. cantorii'' is relatively unstudied, and the current species may actually be composed of several [[taxon|taxa]].<ref name="World" /> One study from 1995<ref name=webb>{{cite journal|last=Webb|first=R. G.|year=1995|title=Redescription and neotype designation of Pelochelys bibroni from southern New Guinea (Testudines: Trionychidae)|journal=Chelonian Conservation and Biology|volume=1|issue=4|pages=301–310}}</ref> showed what was once thought to be ''P. cantorii'' in New Guinea was actually ''P. bibroni'', and the earlier studies<ref>{{cite journal|last=Gray|first=J. E.|author-link=John Edward Gray|year=1864|title=Revision of the species of Trionychidae found in Asia and Africa, with the descriptions of some new species|journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London|volume=1864|pages=76–98}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Boulenger|first=G. A.|author-link=George Albert Boulenger|year=1891|title=XXXI.—On the occurrence of ''Pelochelys'' in China|journal=Journal of Natural History|volume=7|issue=39|pages=283–284|doi=10.1080/00222939109460609|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1430293}}</ref> of ''P. cantorii'' only described populations further to the west.

The Asian giant softshell turtle has a broad head and small eyes close to the tip of its snout. The [[carapace]] is smooth and olive-colored. Juveniles may have dark-spotted carapaces and heads, with yellow around the carapace.<ref name="World">{{cite book|last1=Ernst|first1=C. H.|last2=Altenburg|first2=R. G. M.|last3=Barbour|first3=R. W.|year=1998|title=Turtles of the world [CD-ROM]}}</ref>

Despite reports that it can grow up to {{convert|1.8|m|ft}} in length and is the world's largest extant freshwater turtle, this maximum size and title is murky at best.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070517074755.htm|title=Rare Soft Shell Turtle, Nesting Ground Found in Cambodia|website=ScienceDaily|date=19 May 2007}}</ref><ref name="Mydans">{{cite news|title=How to Survive in Cambodia: For a Turtle, Beneath Sand|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/18/world/asia/18turtles.html|newspaper=New York Times|date=18 May 2007|author=Mydans, Seth}}</ref> Apparently the largest specimen carapace length, {{convert|129|cm|in|abbr=on}}, known is considered suspect and the heaviest specimen known (weighing approximately {{convert|250|kg|lb|abbr=on}} was actually a misidentified [[Yangtze giant softshell turtle]].<ref>{{cite book|last=De Rooij|first=N.|author-link=Nelly de Rooij|year=1915|title=The Reptiles of the Indo-Australian Archipelago|publisher=A. Asher}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Pritchard|first=P.C.|author-link=Peter Pritchard|year=2005|title=Survival status and prospects for Rafetus swinhoei (Chelonia: Trionychidae)|journal=2005 Turtle Survival Alliance Annual Conference Proceedings|pages=19–22}}</ref> A more realistic range of carapace length for this species is reportedly {{convert|70|to|100|cm|in|abbr=on}} and it is one of about a half-dozen giant softshell turtles from three genera that reach exceptionally large sizes, i.e. in excess of {{convert|100|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in mass.<ref>{{cite book|last=Das|first=I.|author-link=:fr:Indraneil Das|year=2010|chapter=''Pelochelys cantorii'' Gray 1864- Asian Giant Softshell Turtle|editor=Iverson, J. B. |editor2=Mittermeier, R. A.|title=Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group|series=Chelonian Research Monographs|volume=5}}</ref>

The species is an [[ambush predator]] and primarily [[carnivore|carnivorous]], feeding on [[crustacean]]s, [[Mollusca|mollusks]] and fish (although some aquatic plants may also be eaten).<ref name="World" /> The turtle spends 95% of its life buried and motionless, with only its eyes and mouth protruding from the sand. It surfaces only twice a day to take a breath, and lays 20–28 eggs sized around {{convert|3.0|to|3.6|cm|in}} in diameter in February or March on riverbanks.<ref name="World" /><ref name="Mydans" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Das|first=I.|year=1985|title=Indian Turtles, a Field Guide|publisher=World Wildlife Fund--India (Eastern Region)|location=Calcutta}}</ref>

Morphological differences in neural bone count have been noted between specimens found in the Philippines and mainland Asia.<ref>{{cite journal | pmc=3591760 | pmid=23653519 | doi=10.3897/zookeys.266.3982 | title=The amphibians and reptiles of Luzon Island, Philippines, VIII: the herpetofauna of Cagayan and Isabela Provinces, northern Sierra Madre Mountain Range | year=2013 | journal=ZooKeys | pages=1–120 | last1 = Brown | first1 = RM | last2 = Siler | first2 = CD | last3 = Oliveros | first3 = CH | last4 = Welton | first4 = LJ | last5 = Rock | first5 = A | last6 = Swab | first6 = J | last7 = Weerd | first7 = MV | last8 = van Beijnen | first8 = J | last9 = Jose | first9 = E | last10 = Rodriguez | first10 = D | last11 = Jose | first11 = E | last12 = Diesmos | first12 = AC | issue=266}}</ref>

The species is named after Danish zoologist [[Theodore Edward Cantor]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Beolens|first1=Bo|last2=Watkins|first2=Michael|last3=Grayson|first3=Michael|year=2011|title=The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles|location=Baltimore|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-1-4214-0135-5|page=47}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==

The Asian giant softshell turtle is classified as [[endangered species|Endangered]] by the [[IUCN]] and has been forced out through habitat destruction, disappearing from much of its range.<ref name="IUCN">https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/16502/97400946</ref> Prior to 2007, it was last seen in Cambodia in 2003. A 2007 survey of one area of the [[Mekong River]] in Cambodia found the turtle in abundance along a {{convert|48|km|mi}} stretch of the river.<ref name="Mydans" /><ref>{{cite news|last1=Munthit|first=K.|title=Rare Turtle's New Chance|newspaper=Associated Press|date=16 May 2007}}</ref>

 

In the Philippines, a juvenile Cantor's turtle known as “cagot" appeared and was captured by a fisherman along the Addalam River, [[Cabarroguis]], [[Quirino]], [[Isabela (province)|Isabela]]. In 2001, this turtle was sent to [[Chicago]] and its identity confirmed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gmanews.tv/story/105818/After-seven-years-rare-soft-shelled-turtle-resurfaces-in-Quirino-Province|title=After seven years, rare soft-shelled turtle resurfaces in Quirino Province|author=Taguinod, Floro C.|website=GMA News Online}}</ref> The reptile has been evaluated as an [[EDGE species]] by the [[Zoological Society of London]].<ref>http://www.edgeofexistence.org/species/cantors-giant-softshell/</ref>

[[File:Asian Giant Softshell Turtle at Philippine National Museum.jpg|thumb|Asian giant softshell turtle at the [[National Museum of the Philippines|Philippine National Museum]]]]

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