Rafetus

Rafetus
Rafetus swinhoei at Hanoi, Vietnam
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Infraphylum:	Gnathostomata
Superclass:	Tetrapoda
Class:	Sauropsida
Subclass:	Anapsida
Order:	Testudines
Superfamily:	Trionychia
Family:	Trionychidae
Subfamily:	Trionychinae
Genus:	Rafetus
Species
2 or 3, see text

Rafetus is a genus of highly endangered softshell turtles in the Trionychidae family. These large turtles are found in freshwater habitats in Asia. According to most taxonomists, the genus contains the following 2 species:

• Euphrates softshell turtle (Rafetus euphraticus)
• Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei).

A third species, the Hoan Kiem turtle (Rafetus leloii, syn. R. vietnamensis), has been proposed as a species. It is considered a junior synonym of Rafetus swinhoei by most authorities,^[1] but some Vietnamese scientists insist the two forms are not identical. The last living individual at Hoan Kiem Lake was found dead on 19 January, 2016.

Taxonomy

Cladogram

As Walter G. Joyce, Ariel Revan, Tyler R. Lyson and Igor G. Danilov (2009)^[2]

Trionychidae	Cyclanorbinae  Cyclanorbis Cycloderma Lissemys  †Plastomeninae  Hutchemys Plastomenus  Trionychinae  Trionyx Chitra Pelochelys Apalone Rafetus Amyda Aspideretes Nilssonia Dogania Palea Pelodiscus

Distribution

• Rafetus euphraticus: had been found at Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Khūzestān Province of Iran. The International Union for Conservation of Nature rates it as Endangered.^[3]
• Rafetus swinhoei: Only three known living individuals, two in Chinese Zoos and another in Dong Mo, Vietnam. IUCN rates it as critically endangered.^[4] Fourth specimen found in Hoan Kiem Lake may be a distinct species.

References

1. Farkas, B and Webb, R.G. 2003. Rafetus leloii Hà Dinh Dúc, 2000—an invalid species of softshell turtle from Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi, Vietnam (Reptilia, Testudines, Trionychidae). Zool. Abhandl. (Dresden), 53: 107-112.
2. Walter G. Joyce, Ariel Revan, Tyler R. Lyson, Igor G. Danilov (2009). "Two New Plastomenine Softshell Turtles from the Paleocene of Montana and Wyoming" (PDF). Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 50 (2): 307–325. doi:10.3374/014.050.0202.
3. European Reptile & Amphibian Specialist Group (1996). "Rafetus euphraticus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010. International Union for Conservation of Nature.
4. Buhlmann, K., Rhodin, A. & van Dijk, P.P. (Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Red List Authority) (2000). "Rafetus swinhoei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010. International Union for Conservation of Nature.

External links

• "Rafetus". National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
• ITIS
• Rafetus at the Encyclopedia of Life
• 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