A new
species of turtle, complete with a pig-like snoot and a spotted squishy shell,
has been identified in the swampy waters of central Vietnam and Hainan Island
in China. Unfortunately, the new species is already listed as "critically
endangered" – nice one, humans.
It was long
assumed that the Chinese Softshell Turtles all belonged to the same species,
however, over the past few decades, scientists realized that these creatures
were actually numerous different species.
Now, they've
identified yet another. Reporting in the journal ZooKeys, an international team
of researchers has carried out tests that identify a fifth species in the
genus, the Spotted Softshell Turtle (Pelodiscus variegatus), noted for its
unique spots on the underside of its belly. Crucially, DNA analysis showed the
individuals were genetically distinct enough to be defined as a new species.
"Some
years ago we started to investigate whether all ‘Chinese softshells’ are indeed
the same species, and during the course of our research it turned out that
there are several unrecognized species,” lead author Professor Uwe Fritz of the
Senckenberg Natural History Collections in Dresden told IFLScience.
“The new one
is the most beautiful one with its nice spots.”
Fritz
suspects that further analysis of Chinese softshell turtles will reveal even
more new species hidden in the genus. "More new species to come!" he
said.
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