Chinese Softshell Turtle

The Chinese softshell turtle, Pelodiscus sinensis, is a freshwater turtle of the family Trionychidae native to mainland China and Taiwan, distinguished by a flexible, leathery shell that lacks the hard horny scutes of most turtles; a layer of solid bone underlies the central carapace but is absent at the flexible outer edges, giving it greater aquatic mobility. Females reach carapace lengths up to about 33 centimeters and males about 27 centimeters, with an olive-colored carapace, orange-red plastron, and dark eye-radiating lines on the head. It has been introduced and become invasive in parts of Asia, Spain, Brazil and Hawaii, and is described as the world's most economically important turtle, with millions farmed in China each year for food.