Wattle-necked softshell turtle

Wattle-necked softshell turtle
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Trionychidae
Subfamily:	Trionychinae
Genus:	Palea Meylan, 1987
Species:	P. steindachneri
Binomial name
Palea steindachneri (Siebenrock, 1906)
Synonyms
Aspidonectes californiana Rivers, 1889 (nomen suppressum) Pelodiscus californianus — Baur, 1893 Aspidonectes californiensis O.P. Hay, 1904 (ex errore) Trionyx steindachneri Siebenrock, 1906 (nomen conservandum) Amyda steindachneri — K.P. Schmidt, 1927 Palea steindachneri — Meylan, 1987 Trionix steindachneri — Richard, 1999 Pelodiscus steindachneri — Pritchard, 2001

The wattle-necked softshell turtle (Palea steindachneri ), also commonly known as Steindachner's soft-shelled turtle, is an endangered species of softshell turtle and the only member of the genus Palea.

The specific name, steindachneri, is in honor of Austrian herpetologist Franz Steindachner.

P. steindachneri is native to southeastern China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Yunnan), Laos, and Vietnam, but has also been introduced to Hawaii and Mauritius.

P. steindachneri is endangered by poaching for human consumption. Although pressure on the wild population continues, several thousand are hatched and raised each year in turtle farms in China and Vietnam for food and traditional medicine.

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Wikipedia