Pelodiscus shipian GONG, FRITZ, VAMBERGER, GAO & FARKAS, 2022
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Pelodiscus shipian
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| Higher Taxa | Trionychidae (Trionychinae), Trionychoidea, Testudines (turtles) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Chinese stone slab soft-shelled turtle Chinese: 石片鳖 (shi pian bie) |
| Synonym | Pelodiscus shipian GONG, FRITZ, VAMBERGER, GAO & FARKAS 2022 |
| Distribution | China (Jiangxi) Type locality: Liaohe River, Fengxin County, Jiangxi Province, China (28°43’N, 115°25’E). |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. Jinan University, Guangzhou: JNU 20190011, adult female preserved in alcohol, leg. Shiping Gong, 18 June 2019, European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) accession numbers for DNA sequences: cyt b—OW235712, P26S4—OW235765, R35—OW237755. Paratypes. Jinan University, Guangzhou: JNU 20190001–20190010, ten adult males preserved in alcohol, same data as the holotype; JNU 20190012–20190017, six adult females preserved in alcohol, same data as the holotype; JNU 20190019–20190022, four adult females preserved in alcohol, same data as the holotype; JNU 20190023, adult male preserved in alcohol, same data as the holotype; JNU 20190024, adult female preserved in alcohol, same data as the holotype; JNU 20210002, 20210003, two adult females preserved in alcohol, Shaoyang County, Hunan Province, China, leg. Shiping Gong, 7 May 2021; JNU 20210004, adult male preserved in alcohol, Taoyuan County, Hunan Province, China, leg. Shiping Gong, 7 May 2021; JNU 20210005, adult male preserved in alcohol, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, China, leg. Shiping Gong, 7 May 2021; JNU 20210006 adult female preserved in alcohol, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, China, leg. Shiping Gong, 7 May 2021. ENA accession numbers of the paratypes are for cyt b sequences: OW235702–OW235711, OW235713–OW235724, OW235726–OW235730; for P26S4 sequences: OW235762–OW235764, OW235766–OW235772, OW235774, OW235775; for R35 sequences: OW237747–OW237754, OW237756, OW237757, OW237760–OW237762; and for TB01 sequences: OW235731–OW235753, OW235756–OW235761. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Besides its genetic distinctiveness (Gong et al. 2018), Pelodiscus shipian sp. nov. differs from its congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) small adult size, <15 cm CL; (2) carapace distinctly keeled, more or less strongly tuberculated, usually olive clay-coloured and adorned with greenish black marbling but sometimes much darker with obscure pattern; (3) plastron yellowish white, typically immaculate except for a blurred-edged blotch behind each axilla that does not extend to the entoplastron and a slight black suffusion along its anterior border; (4) underside of the leathery margin with varying amounts of dark pigmentation; (5) head olive clay-coloured with numerous black splotches; (6) chin grey brown with pale stipples, throat dark grey, finely spotted with black; (7) neck with a wide yellow lateral band stretching from the ear backwards, which tends to fade with age; (8) entoplastron boomerang-shaped, the amount of bending of the transverse bar between the two posteriolaterally directed rami >90°. Pelodiscus shipian sp. nov. cannot be confused with any other species of Pelodiscus except for P. axenaria and, perhaps, P. huangshanensis, its closest relatives constituting the P. axenaria complex, which both have a dark chin and throat finely stippled with black or an indistinct paler colour. The remaining species (P. maackii, P. parviformis, P. sinensis, and P. variegatus) have a light grey chin and throat with white spots or larger white markings that are either or not edged with a darker colour. For additional features see Farkas et al. (2019: Table 4). Pelodiscus shipian sp. nov. differs from P. axenaria by having (1) a smaller adult size of <15 cm CL (vs. >15 CL); (2) no plastral markings except, rarely, relatively small fuzzy-edged blotches behind the axillae and a slight black suffusion on the forelobe (vs. a dark grey central blotch usually present and blotches behind the axillae extending to the entoplastron); (3) usually unmarked inner thighs (vs. thighs usually carrying well-defined, rarely indistinct, black markings on either side of the tail); and (4) a head and snout with numerous black splotches but without clearly discernible pre-, sub- and postocular stripes (vs. a head with fine black specks and streaks and thin, incomplete pre-, sub- and postocular stripes). Pelodiscus shipian sp. nov. differs from P. huangshanensis by having (1) a larger adult size of >12 cm CL (vs. <12 cm CL); (2) a rough, finely tuberculated carapace (vs. smooth carapace with tuberculation confined to the anterior edge and the leathery margin); (3) a distinctly marbled carapace pattern (vs. an olive brown to dark brown carapace without pattern); and (4) a more or less contrasting yellow lateral band on either side of the neck (vs. no lateral bands on neck when fully grown). In the cyt b gene, a frequently used marker for estimating interspecific divergence in turtles (e.g., Kindler et al. 2012; Iverson et al. 2013), P. shipian sp. nov. differs from other Pelodiscus species on average by 5.30–7.53% (Table 1). These values resemble those as observed between species of another softshell turtle genus (Nilssonia; Praschag et al. 2007). Pattern intensity varies considerably in Pelodiscus shipian sp. nov. Whereas the carapace of some individuals, such as the holotype (JNU 20190011; 74.4 mm PL) and one paratype (JNU 20190013; 64 mm PL), both females, has a decidedly marbled appearance, the pattern bears a more striking resemblance to leaf camouflage with more conspicuous stellate spots in others (e.g., paratypes JNU 20190001, 20190007, males; JNU 20190016, 20190017, 20210006, females) or is almost imperceptible due to a general darkening of the ground colour (e.g., JNU 20190002, 20190004, 20190008, 20190010, males; JNU 201900012, 20190019, females); see Figure 6 for examples. The plas- tron is typically unmarked except for some colour suffusion resembling bruising along its anterior perimeter and relatively small fuzzy-edged blotches behind the axillae. However, these markings may occasionally extend medi- ally, covering much of the plastral forelobe but never actually contacting the entoplastron (JNU 201900005, male; JNU 201900012, 201900017, both females). The black markings on either side of the tail typical for P. axenaria are absent in P. shipian sp. nov., but melanistic specimens may display some dark pigmentation on their thighs (e.g., JNU 201900005, male; JNU 201900012, 20210006, both females). Two examples are shown in Figure 6. The lat- eral bands on the neck are bright yellow in smaller specimens, particularly males (e.g., JNU 201900010), and lose definition with increasing age/size but usually remain discernible in both sexes. (Gong et al. 2022) |
| Comment | Distribution: see map in Gong et al. 2022: 141 (Fig. 7). |
| Etymology | The name ‘shipian’ is the romanisation of 石片 (shi pian, Chinese for “slab”), derived from the local (Fengxin, Jiangxi) name of the species 石片鳖 (shi pian bie = stone slab soft-shelled turtle) that alludes to its resemblance to a flat stone. The suggested English common name refers to the same feature. The scientific species name is used as a noun in the nominative singular in apposition to the generic name (ICZN 1999: Article 11.9.1.2). |
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