Rafetus

Rafetus Temporal range: 17.5–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N [1]
Rafetus swinhoei in Hanoi, Vietnam
Rafetus euphraticus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Family:	Trionychidae
Subfamily:	Trionychinae
Genus:	Rafetus Gray, 1864
Type species
Testudo euphratica Daudin, 1801
Species
R. euphraticus (Daudin, 1801) R. swinhoei (Gray, 1873) †R. bohemicus (Liebus, 1930)

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.

Species

Skulls of †R. bohemicus (A-B), R. swinhoei (C-D), R. euphraticus (E-F)

According to most taxonomists, the genus Rafetus contains the following two extant species.

• Rafetus euphraticus (Daudin, 1801) – Euphrates softshell turtle
• Rafetus swinhoei (Gray, 1873) – Yangtze giant softshell turtle

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,^[2] 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.

An extinct species R. bohemicus Liebus, 1930 from the Burdigalian age (Early Miocene) about 17.5 million years ago lived in what is today the Czech Republic.^[1]

Taxonomy

Cladogram

As drawn by Walter G. Joyce, Ariel Revan, Tyler R. Lyson, and Igor G. Danilov (2009)^[3]

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.^[4]
• Rafetus swinhoei: 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 rates it as critically endangered.^[5]

References

1. 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. PMC 10387236. PMID 37525660.
2. 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.
3. Joyce, Walter G.; Revan, Ariel; Lyson, Tyler R.; Danilov, Igor G. (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. S2CID 85505337.
4. Ghaffari, H.; Taskavak, E.; Turkozan, O.; Mobaraki, A. (2017). "Rafetus euphraticus ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017.
5. Asian Turtle Trade Working Group (2000). "Rafetus swinhoei ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2000.

External links

• 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).