Yangtze giant softshell turtle
Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle ( Rafetus swinhoei )
The Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle ( Rafetus swinhoei ) is a species of turtle in the family of soft-shelled turtles ( Trionychidae ). She is known only from a few specimens, and threatened with extinction.
Features
These turtles have like all softshell turtles a soft, leather-like armor. They reach a length of up to 109 centimeters and a weight of 120 to 140 kilograms. For a copy of the head 11.8 inches wide and the carapace was 22.5 inches long and 58.6 inches long and 50.7 inches wide. Males are generally smaller than females, but have a longer tail. The head is characterized by the lying pig -like snout and near the top ( dorsal) eyes.
Dissemination and lifestyle
Originally Yangtze giant softshell turtles occurred in southern China and northern Vietnam. Their habitat were river systems and adjacent wetlands and lakes. Very little is known about the way of life: According to reports from fishermen found in the stomach of a dead animal fish, crabs, snails, water hyacinth, frogs and green rice leaves. The female lays at night or early in the morning from about 60 eggs.
Threat
2004 supported reports of five animals that live in captivity in China, 2007, only two: a 80 -year-old female who in the zoo of Changsha and a 100 -year-old male who lives in the Zoo of Suzhou. The only known free-living animal is native to the Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi. From this specimen there since 1998, several photographs, this animal is but according to some researchers a separate species, Rafetus leloi, dar. 2008 more free live specimens were observed in Vietnam. In July 2011, the Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi (Vietnam ) live animal was released into the wild after successful medical treatment. 170 -pound turtle had been injured by a fishing hook.
The main reasons for the threat are on the one hand, the destruction of their habitat due to river regulation, dams and other, and on the other the hunting, as its flesh eaten and her carapace was used for medical purposes. The IUCN lists the species as " threatened with extinction " ( critically endangered ).