Pelodiscus
Introduction '''''Pelodiscus''''' is a genus of turtles in the family Trionychidae, the softshells. Based on genetic and morphological analysis there are seven valid species. They are native to Eastern Asia, ranging from the Amur region, south through China and Korea, as far south as Vietnam. Populations in Japan are thought to likely originate from historic human introductions.Phylogenetic studies have recovered a high diversity of ''Pelodiscus'' genotypes in China, some of which may correspond to distinct species. However, the millennia-old practice of farming ''Pelodiscus'' for consumption, especially in large-scale turtle farms since the late 20th century, is thought to threaten these lineages due to hybridization with farmed individuals.
Species *''Pelodiscus axenaria''  — Hunan softshell turtle*''Pelodiscus huangshanensis''  — Huangshan softshell turtle, horse-hoof softshell turtle*''Pelodiscus maackii''  — Amur softshell turtle, northern Chinese softshell turtle*''Pelodiscus parviformis''  — lesser Chinese softshell turtle*''Pelodiscus shipian''  ''—'' Chinese stone slab softshell turtle*''Pelodiscus sinensis''  — Chinese softshell turtle*''Pelodiscus variegatus''  — spotted softshell turtle''Nota bene'': In the above list,  a binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Pelodiscus''.
References
Further reading * (in German and Latin). *