Asiatic softshell turtle

Asiatic softshell turtle
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Family: Trionychidae
Genus: Amyda
Species: A. cartilaginea
Binomial name
Amyda cartilaginea
(Boddaert, 1770)
Synonyms[1]
  • Testudo cartilaginea Boddaert, 1770
  • Testudo membranacea Blumenbach, 1779
  • Testudo boddaerti Schneider, 1787
  • Testudo bodderti Schneider, 1787 (ex errore)
  • Amyda javanica Schweigger, 1809 (nomen nudum)
  • Trionyx javanicus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809
  • Trionyx stellatus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1810(nomen novum)
  • Aspidonectes javanicus Wagler, 1830
  • Gymnopus javanicus A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1835
  • Gymnopus cartilaginea Cantor, 1847
  • Trionyx cariniferus Gray, 1856
  • Trionyx ornatus Gray, 1861
  • Aspilus cariniferus Gray, 1864
  • Aspilus ornatus Gray, 1864
  • Aspilus punctulatus Gray, 1864
  • Potamochelys stellatus Gray, 1864
  • Trionyx phayrei Theobald, 1868
  • Trionyx jeudi Gray, 1869
  • Aspilus javanicus Gray, 1873
  • Ida ornata Gray, 1873
  • Trionyx ephippium Theobald, 1875
  • Trionyx cartilagineus Boulenger, 1889
  • Trionyx phayrii Boulenger, 1889 (ex errore)
  • Aspidonectes cartilagineus Baur, 1893
  • Aspidonectes phayrei Baur, 1893
  • Potamochelys cartilagineus O.P. Hay, 1904
  • Potamochelys javanicus O.P. Hay, 1904
  • Amyda cartilaginea Barbour, 1912
  • Amyda phayrii Barbour, 1912
  • Trionyx boddaertii Bourret, 1941 (ex errore)
  • Trionyx carinifera Bourret, 1941
  • Trionyx cartilagneus Thelwall, 1971 (ex errore)
  • Testudo boddaerta Auffenberg, 1974 (ex errore)
  • Trionyx cartilaginosis Auffenberg, 1974 (ex errore)
  • Trionyx cartilaginosus Auffenberg, 1974 (ex errore)
  • Tryonyx cartilageneus Nutaphand, 1979 (ex errore)
  • Trionyx cartilageneus Nutaphand, 1979
  • Trionyx cartlageneus Nutaphand, 1979 (ex errore)
  • Trionyx nakornsrithammarajensis Nutaphand, 1979
  • Trionyx cartilaginous Chkhikvadze, 1987 (ex errore)
  • Amyda nakornsrithammarajensis Ernst & Barbour, 1989
  • Amyda nakornsrithammarajensis Stubbs, 1989
  • Trionyx cartilageneus nakorn Nutaphand, 1990
  • Trionyx cartilageneus cartilageneus Nutaphand, 1990
  • Amyda cartilaginae Nöllert, 1992 (ex errore)
  • Trionyx cartilagineus nakorn Obst, 1996
  • Trionix cartilagineus Richard, 1999

The Asiatic softshell turtle or black-rayed softshell turtle (Amyda cartilaginea)[2] is a species of softshell turtle in the Trionychidae family. It is not the only softshell turtle in Asia (most trionychines are Asian).[1]

Geographic range

It is found in Bangladesh (Bandarban region), Borneo, Brunei, Cambodia, northeastern India, Indonesia, Java, Kalimantan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sabah, Sarawak, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.[3]

Description

Adults may attain a carapace length of 70 cm (27.5 in). The oval carapace has rounded sides, and the head is relatively narrow. This species exhibits sexual dimorphism in the color of the plastron, which is white in males, gray in females.[3] A. cartilaginea is nocturnal.[3]

Habitat

Amyda cartilaginea (Trionyx cartilagineus) in a Saint Petersburg museum

It prefers wetlands such as marshes, swamps, and large muddy rivers at lower elevations.[3]

Diet

It preys on water insects, shrimps, fishes, and frogs.[3]

Reproduction

Adult females lay eggs in holes on riverbanks. The spherical eggs are 21–33 mm (0.8-1.3 in) in diameter. The number of eggs laid in a clutch varies from four to eight.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Fritz, Uwe; Peter Havaš (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World". Vertebrate Zoology 57 (2): 303–305. ISSN 1864-5755. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  2. Turtle - Black Rayed information
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Das, Indraneil. 2006. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Borneo. Ralph Curtis Books. Sanibel Island, Florida. 144 pp. ISBN 0-88359-061-1. (Amyda cartilaginea, p. 135.)

External links


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