Cantor's giant softshell turtle

Cantor's giant softshell turtle
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 2.3)[1][2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Trionychidae
Genus:	Pelochelys
Species:	P. cantorii
Binomial name
Pelochelys cantorii[1] Gray, 1864[1][2]
Synonyms[3]
Pelochelys cantorii Gray, 1864 Pelochelys cumingii Gray, 1864 Pelochelys cantoris Boulenger, 1889 Pelochelys poljakowii Strauch, 1890 Pelochelys cummingii Smith, 1931 (ex errore) Pelochelys cantori Pritchard, 1967 (ex errore)

The Cantor's giant softshell turtle (Pelochelys cantorii)^[1] or Asian giant softshell turtle is a species of freshwater turtle. The 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.^[4]

Cantor's giant soft-shelled turtles can grow up to 6 ft (about 2 m) in length.^[5][6] P. cantorii is an ambush predator and primarily carnivorous, feeding on crustaceans, mollusks and fish (although some aquatic plants may also be eaten).^[4] 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 (about 1.2 to 1.4 inches [3.0–3.5 cm] in diameter) in February or March on riverbanks.^[4][6][7]

The turtle is named after Theodore Edward Cantor.^[8]

Distribution

The turtle is found primarily in inland, slow-moving, freshwater rivers and streams. Some evidence indicates its range extends to coastal areas, as well.^[4]

The turtle is found in eastern and southern India, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, eastern and southern China, Singapore (extirpated), the Philippines (Luzon and Mindanao) and Indonesia (Kalimantan, Java and Sumatra).^[1]

The turtle is regarded as endangered, and has disappeared from much of its range. 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 short 48-km (30-mi) stretch of the river.^[6][9]

Taxonomy

Cantor's giant softshell turtle is not found in New Guinea, while the two other members of the genus Pelochelys, P. bibroni and P. signifera are both restricted to New Guinea.^[1]P. cantorii is relatively unstudied, and the current species may actually be composed of several taxa.^[4] One study from 1995^[10] showed what was once thought to be P. cantorii in New Guinea was actually P. bibroni, and the earlier studies^[11] of P. cantorii only described populations further to the west.

Appearance

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. In 2001, this turtle was sent to Chicago, and later confirmed to be an endangered turtle species.^[12][13]

Morphological differences on neural bone count has been noted among specimens found in the Philippines and mainland Asia.^[14]

References

• Baur, G. (1891) "Notes on the trionychian genus Pelochelys." Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (6) 7: 445–447.
• Boulenger, G.A. (1891) "On the occurrence of Pelochelys in China." Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (6) 7: 283–284.
• Das, Indraneil. Indian Turtles: A Field Guide. Calcutta: World Wildlife Fund-India (Eastern Region), 1985.
• Ernst, Carl H.; Barbour, Roger W.; and Altenburg, R.G.M. Turtles of the World. Rev. paperback ed. New York: Springer-Verlag New York, LLC, 1998. ISBN 3-540-14547-8 Accessed May 18, 2007.
• McCord, William P.and Joseph-Ouni, Mehdi. (2003) "Flapshell and Giant Asian Softshell Turtles." Reptilia. 26:59–64.
• Mydans, Seth. "How to Survive in Cambodia: For a Turtle, Beneath Sand." New York Times. May 18, 2007.
• Gray, J.E. (1864) "Revision of the species of Trionychidae found in Asia and Africa, with descriptions of some new species." Proc. Zool. Soc. London. 1864: 76–98.
• Munthit, Ker. "Rare Turtle's New Chance." Associated Press. May 16, 2007.
• Webb, R.G. (1995) "Redescription and neotype designation of Pelochelys bibroni from southern New Guinea (Testudines: Trionychidae)." Chelonian Conserv. & Biol. 1: 301–310.
• Webb, Robert G. (2002) "Observations on the Giant Softshell Turtle, Pelochelys cantorii, with description of a new species." Hamadryad. 27 (1): 99–107.

Bibliography

• Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Inverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Roger, Bour (2011-12-31). "Turtles of the world, 2011 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status". Chelonian Research Monographs 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-22. 
• Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology 57 (2). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-17. 

Further Reading

Das, Indraneil; Lakim, Maklarin (December 2006). "On the Distribution of Pelochelys cantorii on Borneo". Chelonian Conservation and Biology 5 (2): 323–325. doi:10.2744/1071-8443(2006)5[323:OTDOPC]2.0.CO;2.  |accessdate= requires |url= (help)

External links

Wikispecies has information related to: Pelochelys cantorii

Media related to Pelochelys cantorii at Wikimedia Commons

• "Pelochelys cantorii." The Reptile Database. No date. Accessed May 18, 2007.
• "Pelochelys Gallery." Turtle and Tortoise Information. World Chelonian Trust. No date. Accessed May 18, 2007.
• Soft Shell turtle discovered in Sabang Pulau Weh Sumatra Indonesia

Turtle family Trionychidae Genus Species of the subfamily Cyclanorbinae Cyclanorbis Nubian flapshell turtle Senegal flapshell turtle Cycloderma Aubry's flapshell turtle Zambezi flapshell turtle Lissemys Burmese flapshell turtle Indian flapshell turtle Sri Lankan flapshell turtle   Species of the subfamily Trionychinae Amyda Asiatic softshell turtle Apalone Florida softshell turtle Smooth softshell turtle Spiny softshell turtle Chitra Asian narrow-headed softshell turtle Burmese narrow-headed softshell turtle Indian narrow-headed softshell turtle Dogania Malayan softshell turtle Nilssonia Black softshell turtle Burmese peacock softshell Indian softshell turtle Indian peacock softshell turtle Leith's softshell turtle Palea Wattle-necked softshell turtle Pelochelys Cantor's giant softshell turtle New Guinea giant softshell turtle Northern New Guinea giant softshell turtle Pelodiscus Chinese softshell turtle Hunan softshell turtle Lesser Chinese softshell turtle Northern Chinese softshell turtle Rafetus Euphrates softshell turtle Yangtze giant softshell turtle Trionyx African softshell turtle Phylogenetic arrangement based on turtles of the world 2011 update: annotated checklist.