CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How many types of soft-shelled turtles are there? What are the characteristics of different species?

How many types of soft-shelled turtles are there? What are the characteristics of different species?

There are more than 20 species of soft-shelled turtles, which are the common names for turtles, also called round fish, water fish, etc. Soft-shelled turtles are amphibian reptiles. The more common ones in my country are Chinese soft-shelled turtles, mountain soft-shelled turtles, and spotted soft-shelled turtles. In particular, Chinese soft-shelled turtles are the main breed in my country, and are distributed throughout the country. Mountain soft-shelled turtles are distributed in the southwest of my country, mainly in Guangxi. However, the reproduction rate of mountain soft-shelled turtles is relatively low, and they have been listed as protected animals.

1. There are several types of soft-shelled turtles. There are many types of soft-shelled turtles, totaling more than 20 species. Soft-shelled turtle is the common name for turtles, and they are also called round fish, water fish, etc. They belong to the amphibian class. In my country, the common species include Chinese soft-shelled turtle, mountain soft-shelled turtle, spotted soft-shelled turtle, etc. Different species of soft-shelled turtles have different appearances and characteristics.

2. What are the characteristics of different varieties of soft-shelled turtles? There are many varieties of soft-shelled turtles, the most representative of which are the Asian soft-shelled turtle, Indian soft-shelled turtle, Malay soft-shelled turtle, Chinese soft-shelled turtle, and the spotted soft-shelled turtle. The following is a detailed introduction to the characteristics of some different varieties.

1. Asian softshell turtle: The Asian softshell turtle has a relatively large head. The adult Asian softshell turtle has a hinged structure on its carapace and likes to hide under large pebbles along the stream.

2. Indian Softshell Turtle: The Indian Softshell Turtle has a small head and a short snout. Its carapace is oblong, its plastron is relatively flat, and its color is milky white.

3. Malay softshell turtle: The most obvious feature of the Malay softshell turtle is that its snout is like a pig. The color of its carapace is generally gray-green and olive. It has black spots or stripes when it is young, but they will disappear with time.

4. Chinese soft-shelled turtle: Chinese soft-shelled turtle is mainly distributed in my country. It is a common type of soft-shelled turtle in my country, especially in Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei and other regions.

5. Yangtze giant softshell turtle: There are few Yangtze giant softshell turtles in the wild, and it is difficult for them to reproduce, so their number is extremely small. Currently, there are 4 Yangtze giant softshell turtles known to be alive, 2 of which are in Suzhou Zoo and the other 2 are in Hoan Kim Lake in Vietnam.

What types of turtles are there?

Types of turtles include:

Yangtze giant softshell turtle

The Yangtze giant softshell turtle is a national first-class protected animal. It is extremely rare and precious. It is a "giant panda in the water" that is more endangered than the Chinese sturgeon. "Lv Shunqing, coordinator of the WCS Amphibian and Reptile Species Project, introduced that the Yangtze giant softshell turtle is the most endangered species among turtles. Only three are known to survive in the world, including one in Suzhou Zoo, one in northern Vietnam (a Yangtze giant softshell turtle died in Hoan Kiem Lake in 2016), and one in Changsha Zoo.

Chinese soft-shell turtle

Chinese soft-shell turtles are widely distributed in China. Except for Xinjiang, Tibet and Qinghai, they are found in all other provinces, especially in Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu. Wu Huisheng reported that red and white soft-shell turtles were found in Hubei Province, which are variants of Chinese soft-shell turtles. Chinese soft-shell turtle fossils were found in the Pliocene strata of China.

Pearl Turtle

It is mainly distributed in central and southern United States, and has been successfully farmed in Guangdong and Guangxi of China.

Mountain softshell turtle

Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi and other provinces and regions. They are distributed throughout Guangxi. Taking the number of acquisitions in 1978 as an example, Nanning and Baise accounted for 67.7% of the total, Hechi and Liuzhou accounted for 27.1%, Guilin, Yulin and Wuzhou accounted for less, and overseas they are distributed in Vietnam.

Guizhou is mountainous, and the climate is very suitable for the growth of soft-shelled turtles, and the quality of soft-shelled turtles is very good. At present, the quality of soft-shelled turtles in Fanjing Mountain is the best, because Fanjing Mountain area is controlled by the Southeast Pacific monsoon, belonging to the subtropical humid monsoon climate zone, and is significantly affected by the southeast ocean monsoon in summer, and is generally less affected by cold waves in winter.

Additional information:

Living habits of turtles

The turtle is a cold-blooded animal, amphibious, and breathes with lungs. It likes to live in rivers, lakes, and ponds. It often floats to the surface of the water, stretches out its snout to breathe, and often moves around on land to bask in the sun. The turtle is very sensitive to changes in external temperature, and its life pattern is closely related to changes in external temperature. When the temperature is 10-12℃, the turtle goes into hibernation. The hibernation period of the turtle in the Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou area is from mid-November to mid-April of the following year.

When the water temperature rises to about 15℃ in spring, turtles gradually wake up from hibernation and start to eat. When the temperature is above 20℃, male and female turtles mate and lay eggs. Turtles have the habit of protecting their eggs. After laying eggs, they will guard them in the water not far from the spawning site to prevent them from being harmed by natural enemies. 25-30℃ is the most suitable temperature range for turtles to eat and grow, and it is also the best season for artificial breeding.

When the temperature exceeds 33℃, they will seek a cave to escape the heat. In artificial breeding, large and small turtles should not be raised together because they are aggressive by nature. It is common for the strong to bully the weak in groups, and they will cannibalize their own kind when food is scarce. The living habits of turtles can be summarized as "three likes and three fears", that is, they like quietness and fear being startled, they like the sun and fear the wind, and they like cleanliness and fear dirt. Turtles react sensitively to the sounds of the surrounding environment, and they can quickly dive into the mud at the bottom of the water as long as there is a slight movement around them.

Reference source: Baidu Encyclopedia - Turtle

There are three native species of soft-shelled turtles in my country, namely the Chinese soft-shelled turtle, the mountain soft-shelled turtle and the spotted soft-shelled turtle. Among them, the Chinese soft-shelled turtle is the main breeding species in my country, and is distributed throughout the country except Tibet and Qinghai.

The mountain soft-shelled turtle is mainly distributed in the southwest region of my country, with the majority in Guangxi. Because the reproduction rate of the mountain soft-shelled turtle is relatively low, there are relatively few wild populations, so it is listed as a second-class protected animal in my country.

However, since the 1990s, after the successful artificial breeding and domestication, artificial breeding has begun. However, because the mountain softshell turtle cannot tolerate low temperatures, artificial breeding is limited to areas south of East China and factory breeding.

The Yangtze giant softshell turtle is one of the rarest wild animals in my country, and its value is comparable to that of the panda. It is now almost extinct in the wild, and only a few are kept in a few parks. In addition, there are reports of breeding and discovery of some new softshell turtle species in some places, such as the black softshell turtle in Zhejiang, the black-bottom softshell turtle in Guangxi, the sand softshell turtle and the small softshell turtle in Hunan, etc.

Additional information:

Growth habit

The turtle is a cold-blooded animal, amphibious, and breathes with lungs. It likes to live in rivers, lakes, and ponds. It often floats to the surface of the water, stretches out its snout to breathe, and often moves around on land to bask in the sun. The turtle is very sensitive to changes in external temperature, and its life pattern is closely related to changes in external temperature.

When the temperature is between 10 and 12 degrees Celsius, the turtle will hibernate. The hibernation period for turtles in the Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou area is from mid-November to mid-April of the following year. When the water temperature rises to around 15 degrees Celsius in spring, they will gradually wake up from hibernation and start to eat.

When the temperature is above 20℃, male and female turtles mate and lay eggs. Turtles have the habit of protecting their eggs. After laying eggs, they will guard them in the water not far from the spawning site to prevent them from being harmed by natural enemies. 25-30℃ is the most suitable temperature range for turtles to feed and grow, and it is also the best season for artificial breeding.

Turtle is commonly known as soft-shelled turtle, water fish, round fish and turtle. It is an oviparous reptile that lives on land and in water. Turtle meat is delicious and nutritious. It has the effects of clearing away heat and nourishing yin, calming the liver and extinguishing wind, and softening and dispersing lumps. Turtle is not only a delicious dish on the table, but also a widely used tonic medicine.

Population distribution:

They are mainly distributed in the seas and lakes of Asia, Africa and America. The existing species in China mainly include Chinese soft-shelled turtle, mountain soft-shelled turtle, spotted soft-shelled turtle and cantoryopsis, among which Chinese soft-shelled turtle is the most common.

① Yangtze giant softshell turtle (first-class protected animal)

The Yangtze giant softshell turtle is a national first-class protected animal. It is rare and extremely precious. It is a "giant panda of the water" that is more endangered than the Chinese sturgeon.

② Chinese soft-shelled turtle

Chinese soft-shell turtles are widely distributed in China. Except for Xinjiang, Tibet and Qinghai, they are found in all other provinces, especially in Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu. Wu Huisheng reported that red and white soft-shell turtles were found in Hubei Province, which are variants of Chinese soft-shell turtles. Chinese soft-shell turtle fossils were found in the Pliocene strata of China.

③ Pearl turtle

It is mainly distributed in central and southern United States, and has been successfully farmed in Guangdong and Guangxi of China.

④ Mountain soft-shell turtle (second-class protected animal)

Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi and other provinces and regions. It is distributed throughout Guangxi.

Turtle, commonly known as water fish and round fish, is a common breeding species in Jiangnan, my country. According to scholars, the classification of turtle in the animal kingdom belongs to the class of reptiles and the family of Testudinidae. There are 7 genera and 24 species of turtles that have been identified, including Microcephala, Discocephalus, Roundworm, Marginocephalus, Caniphyllum, Sinopterus (pure fossil species) and Trionyx. There are 3 genera and 5 species in China, including Caniphyllum, Sinopterus and Trionyx.

There are two species of the genus Cantorii: Cantorii and Taihu Cantorii. Cantorii is widely distributed in the Indochina Peninsula, Indonesia, the Philippines, Irian Island, and Zhejiang, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan and other places in China. Taihu Cantorii is only distributed in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places in my country.

The genus Sinapterus is a fossil species established by Chinese scholars in 1953 based on the identification of fossil specimens unearthed in Sichuan Province. There is only one species, namely, Sinapterus vichyssoris.

The genus Trionyx has a wide range of species, distributed in Asia, Africa and North America. There are 16 species in total, two of which are native to China, namely the Trionyx terrapina and the Mountain Trionyx terrapina. Trionyx terrapina is distributed in all provinces, municipalities and regions of my country except Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Tibet. The Mountain Trionyx terrapina is distributed in southern provinces such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan and Guizhou.

In the classification of turtles, some mainland Chinese scholars and Taiwan scholar Yu Tingji have advocated that turtles produced in southern my country (Yangtze River Basin) and Taiwan Province be called Chinese soft-shelled turtles, those produced in the north be called northern soft-shelled turtles, and those produced in Yunnan, Guangdong, Hainan and other places be called round soft-shelled turtles. However, the above three types of turtles are very similar in appearance. At present, Yu's viewpoint has not been accepted by the majority of aquatic scholars. Therefore, before the classification and scientific names of the above three types of turtles are straightened out and unified academically, it is better to unify them into Chinese soft-shelled turtles.

Common turtle species

At present, there are many sources of soft-shelled turtles. In addition to the soft-shelled turtle species native to mainland my country, they are also produced in Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and the United States. The following are the common types in China:

1. Chinese soft-shelled turtle

The Chinese soft-shell turtle is shaped like a tortoise, with a nearly round, relatively flat and thin body. It is dark green in color, without black spots or warts. Its abdomen is grayish white, and some turtles are yellow in color. There are no warts on the neck.

2. Thai soft-shelled turtle

A large number of Thai soft-shelled turtle seedlings enter my country, with 40 to 50 million each year. The situation of their parents is unknown, so it is temporarily appropriate to call them Thai soft-shelled turtles.

3. Taiwan soft-shelled turtle

4. Sand turtle

The sand softshell turtle is produced in the waters around Hunan. Its back is dark green or black, its back is raised, and its belly is yellow. Preliminary research shows that it may be a hybrid variety or a variant of the Chinese softshell turtle.

Sri Lankan softshell turtle (commonly known as peacock softshell turtle), Burmese box softshell turtle (commonly known as bread softshell turtle), mountain softshell turtle, Indian small-headed softshell turtle,

Chinese soft-shell turtle