Biology:Rafetus
Rafetus is a genus of highly endangered softshell turtles in the family Trionychidae. It is a genus of large turtles which are found in freshwater habitats in Eurasia.
Taxonomy
Evolution
Phylogenetic evidence largely suggests that Rafetus is most closely related to the widespread North American genus Apalone. The two genera appear to have diverged during the Late Eocene, likely when the ancestors of Apalone dispersed into North America via Beringia.[1][2]
Species
According to most taxonomists, the genus Rafetus contains the following two extant species.
- Rafetus euphraticus (Daudin, 1801) – Euphrates softshell turtle; Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Khūzestān Province of Iran. IUCN: Endangered.[3]
- Rafetus swinhoei (Gray, 1873) – Yangtze giant softshell turtle; Only three known living individuals, one in Suzhou Zoo (China) and two in two lakes in northern Vietnam, Dong Mo lake and Xuan Khanh lake. IUCN: Critically endangered.[4]
A possible third species, Rafetus leloii Hà, 2000 (synonym R. vietnamensis Le et al., 2010), known commonly as the Hoan Kiem turtle, has been proposed as a species. It is considered a junior synonym of Rafetus swinhoei by most authorities,[5] but some Vietnamese scientists insist the two forms are not identical. The last known individual at Hoan Kiem Lake was found dead on 19 January 2016.[6][7]
An extinct species R. bohemicus Liebus, 1930 from the Burdigalian age of the Early Miocene (about 17.5 million years ago) lived in what is today the Czech Republic.[8]
Cladogram as drawn by Walter G. Joyce, Ariel Revan, Tyler R. Lyson, and Igor G. Danilov (2009)[9]
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References
- ↑ Le, Minh; Duong, Ha T.; Dinh, Long D.; Nguyen, Truong Q.; Pritchard, Peter C. H.; McCormack, Timothy (2014-09-01). "A phylogeny of softshell turtles (Testudines: Trionychidae) with reference to the taxonomic status of the critically endangered, giant softshell turtle, Rafetus swinhoei" (in en). Organisms Diversity & Evolution 14 (3): 279–293. doi:10.1007/s13127-014-0169-3. ISSN 1618-1077. Bibcode: 2014ODivE..14..279L. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13127-014-0169-3.
- ↑ Thomson, Robert C.; Spinks, Phillip Q.; Shaffer, H. Bradley (2021-02-16). "A global phylogeny of turtles reveals a burst of climate-associated diversification on continental margins". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118 (7). doi:10.1073/pnas.2012215118. PMID 33558231. Bibcode: 2021PNAS..11812215T.
- ↑ Ghaffari, H.; Taskavak, E.; Turkozan, O.; Mobaraki, A. (2017). "Rafetus euphraticus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T19070A1956551.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/19070/1956551. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
- ↑ Fong, J.; Hoang, H.; Kuchling, G.; Li, P.; McCormack, T.; Rao, D.-Q.; Timmins, R.J.; Wang, L. (2021). "Rafetus swinhoei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T39621A2931537.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/39621/2931537. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
- ↑ Farkas B; Webb RG (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.
- ↑ "'Cụ' rùa Hồ Gươm đã chết" (in en-US). http://www.phapluatso.com/cu-rua-ho-guom-da-chet.html.
- ↑ Ives, Mike (January 22, 2016). "Vietnam's Sacred Turtle Dies at an Awkward, Some Say Ominous, Time". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/23/world/asia/vietnam-turtle-hoan-kiem-lake.html.
- ↑ Chroust, M.; Mazuch, M.; Ivanov, M.; Alba, D. M.; Luján, À. H. (2023). "Redescription of the soft-shell turtle Rafetus bohemicus (Testudines, Trionychidae) from the Early Miocene of Czechia". PeerJ 11: e15658. doi:10.7717/peerj.15658. PMID 37525660.
- ↑ Joyce, Walter G.; Revan, Ariel; Lyson, Tyler R.; Danilov, Igor G. (2009). "Two New Plastomenine Softshell Turtles from the Paleocene of Montana and Wyoming". Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 50 (2): 307–325. doi:10.3374/014.050.0202. Bibcode: 2009BPMNH..50..307J. http://www.mrfdigs.com/publications/200910_joyce-et-al.pdf.
External links
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Wikispecies has information related to Rafetus |
- Gray JE (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. (Rafetus, new genus, p. 81).
Template:Trionychidae Wikidata ☰ Q1930722 entry
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