Classification: Introduced Species - While the Chinese Softshell Turtle has been seen and identified in numerous states at this time there are no records of any breeding populations in the wild. Sightings of this species are most likely of released or escaped pets that were imported for the pet trade.

Taxom: Pelodiscus sinensis will be split into Pelodiscus parviformis, Pelodiscus maackii, Pelodiscus axenaria, and Pelodiscus sinensis. View Taxon Change

Description: Females of the Chinese softshell turtle can reach up to 13 inches in carapace length, while the smaller males reach 11 inches, but however have longer tails than the females. Maturity is reached at a carapace length of 7 to 7.5 inches. It has webbed feet for swimming. They are called "softshell" because their carapace lacks horny scutes (scales). The carapace is leathery and pliable, particularly at the sides. The central part of the carapace has a layer of solid bone beneath it, as in other turtles, but this is absent at the outer edges. The light and flexible shell of these turtles allows them to move more easily in open water, or in muddy lake bottoms.

The carapace of these turtles is olive in color and may have dark blotches. The plastron is orange-red, and may also have large dark blotches. The limbs and head are olive dorsally with the forelimbs lighter and the hind-limbs orange-red ventrally. There are dark flecks on the head and dark lines that radiate from the eyes. The throat is mottled and there may be small, dark bars on the lips. A pair of dark blotches is found in front of the tail as well as a black band on the posterior side of each thigh.

Habitat: Chinese softshell turtles live in fresh and brackish water. In China these turtles are found in rivers, lakes, ponds, canals and creeks with slow currents, and in Hawaii they can be found in marshes and drainage ditches.

Range: The Chinese softshell turtle is native to Taiwan and China, where it is found in Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hong Kong, Hubei, Hunan, Inner Mongolia (Nei Mongol), Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan and Zhejiang Provinces.

Found in these States: HI | MA | MD | NY | TX

Diet: These turtles are predominantly carnivorous and the remains of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, insects, and seeds of marsh plants have been found in their stomachs.

Reproduction: These turtles reach sexual maturity sometime between 4 and 6 years of age. They mate at the surface or under water. A male will hold the female's carapace with its forelimbs and may bite at her head, neck, and limbs. Females may retain sperm for almost a year after copulation.

The females lay 8–30 eggs in a clutch and may lay from 2 to 5 clutches each year. The eggs are laid in a nest that is about 3 to 4 inches across at the entrance. Eggs are spherical and average about 0.79 inches in diameter. After an incubation period of about 60 days, which may be longer or shorter depending upon temperature, the eggs hatch. Average hatchling carapace length is about 1 inch and width is also about 1 inch. Sex of the hatchlings is not determined by incubation temperature.

Status: Wild populations are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. In contrast, the mass farming and release of P. sinensis has been known to lead to hybridization several other unique Pelodiscus lineages, some of which may be their own distinct species, which in turn threatens their gene pool.

Subspecies: None

Taxonomy: