Nilssonia (animal)
Encyclopedia
Nilssonia is a genus
of softshell turtles (family
Trionychidae). In many treatments, it is monotypic
, with the single species Burmese Peacock Softshell
(N. formosa). However, the supposed other genus of peacock softshells, Aspideretes
, is even closer related to N. formosa than was previously believed. They differ only in the neural plates between the first pleural scale pair of the bony carapace, which are fused into one in N. formosa and unfused in the others.
Thus, it has been proposed to unite the two genera under the older name, Nilssonia. As it seems, the closest living relatives of the Burmese peacock softshell are the Ganges Soft-shelled Turtle (A./N. gangeticus) and the Nagpur Soft-shelled Turtle (A./N. leithii), making the merging of the genera well warranted.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of softshell turtles (family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Trionychidae). In many treatments, it is monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
, with the single species Burmese Peacock Softshell
Burmese Peacock Softshell
The Burmese peacock softshell is a species of softshell turtle in the Trionychidae family. It is considered to be the one of five species in the genus NilssoniaIt is found only in Myanmar.-References:...
(N. formosa). However, the supposed other genus of peacock softshells, Aspideretes
Aspideretes
Aspideretes is a genus of soft-shelled turtles . It has been found to be so closely related to the Burmese Peacock Softshell that it is probably better united with this species under Nilssonia, the older name...
, is even closer related to N. formosa than was previously believed. They differ only in the neural plates between the first pleural scale pair of the bony carapace, which are fused into one in N. formosa and unfused in the others.
Thus, it has been proposed to unite the two genera under the older name, Nilssonia. As it seems, the closest living relatives of the Burmese peacock softshell are the Ganges Soft-shelled Turtle (A./N. gangeticus) and the Nagpur Soft-shelled Turtle (A./N. leithii), making the merging of the genera well warranted.
Species
If the genera are united there are five species:- Burmese softshell turtle Nilssonia formosa (Gray, 1869)
- Ganges softshell turtle Nilssonia gangetica (Cuvier, 1825)
- Peacock softshell turtle Nilssonia hurum (Gray, 1831)
- Nagpur softshell turtle Nilssonia leithii (Gray, 1872)
- Black softshell turtle Nilssonia nigricans (Anderson, 1875)