What is the biggest freshwater turtle in the world?

What is the biggest freshwater turtle in the world?

Yangtze giant softshell turtle
Description. The Yangtze giant softshell turtle is noted for its deep head with a pig-like snout and dorsally placed eyes. This critically endangered species holds the title of being the largest freshwater turtle in the world.

When did the giant freshwater turtle go extinct?

The last known female Swinhoe’s softshell turtle—the most endangered turtle species in the world—died in April 2019, leaving the last known male without a mate and the species headed for extinction, reports Harry Baker for Live Science.

Is the Yangtze giant softshell turtle extinct 2020?

The Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle is native to China and Vietnam. There are only five known living individuals, three of which are males in captivity, and the two in Vietnam that are in the wild. The species is now functionally extinct, unless a female in the wild is located and successfully bred.

Is the Yangtze giant softshell turtle extinct in 2021?

The Yangtze giant softshell turtle is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List, but may be virtually extinct in the wild. It is listed on CITES Appendix II. The future of this species rests on the success of the captive breeding efforts or a miraculous discovery of previously unknown populations.

How big is the Yangtze giant softshell turtle?

39 inches by 28 inches
Description. Yangtze giant softshell turtles, also called red river turtles, are the largest freshwater turtle species in the world. They can grow to over 39 inches by 28 inches and weigh up to 275 pounds.

Did the rafetus turtle go extinct?

The Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) is considered the most critically endangered turtle in the world, with only four known individuals left on Earth. On Saturday (April 13), that population fell to three, as the species’ last known female died in a zoo in Suzhou, China, according to the BBC.

What are the rarest turtle?

Rarest Turtles

1. Flattened Musk Turtle. Flattened Musk Turtle swimming underwater.
2. Painted River Terrapin. Painted River Terraping (Batagur borneoensis)
3. Yellow-Headed Box Turtle. Yellow headed box turtle (Cuora aurocapitata)
4. Yellow Blotched Map Turtle.
5. Pig-nosed Turtle.
6. Spiny Softshell Turtle.

Is the Chinese softshell turtle extinct?

Vulnerable (Population decreasing)
Chinese softshell turtle/Conservation status

Is the Rafetus turtle extinct?

Critically Endangered
Yangtze giant softshell turtle/Conservation status
But despite the Rafetus swinhoei being revered, it is also extremely threatened. For two decades it has been listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ on the Red List maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Why did the Yangtze giant softshell turtle go extinct?

The animal, known also as the Hoan Kiem turtle or Yangtze giant softshell turtle, has been driven to the brink by hunting for its meat and eggs, as well as by destruction of its habitat.

What is the rarest tortoise in the world?

ploughshare tortoise
On the island of Madagascar, locked gates, razor-wire fences, and 24-hour armed guards protect one of the world’s rarest treasures. That treasure, worth roughly $50,000 each on the black market, is the last wild population of the critically endangered ploughshare tortoise, the rarest tortoise on the planet.

Is Vietnam’s Yangtze giant softshell turtle going extinct?

The death of Cu Rua, long revered in Vietnam, brings the critically endangered Yangtze giant softshell turtle one step closer to extinction. HANOI, Vietnam HANOI, Vietnam—We were packed inside a small taxi—me, my wife, our three kids—and heading past postcard-perfect Hoan Kiem Lake (map) when I noticed a crowd at the water’s edge.

What happened to Vietnam’s Golden Turtle?

The blade was never seen again. But the sacred chelonian, today known as the Hoàn Kiếm turtle or the Golden Turtle, has maintained a curious, high-profile presence in Vietnam. A symbol of the country’s independence and longevity—even seen as a deity that has protected its capital—the turtle is immortalized in art and architecture around Hanoi.

Why is there a turtle in Hanoi?

A symbol of the country’s independence and longevity—even seen as a deity that has protected its capital—the turtle is immortalized in art and architecture around Hanoi. Tháp Rùa, or Tortoise Tower, is a late-19th-century building that sits on an islet on Hoàn Kiếm Lake.

Is the Vietnamese turtle a male or female?

Conservationists and veterinarians recently announced that the Vietnamese turtle is a female. At the same time, exhaustive hunts for other surviving Swinhoe’s softshell turtles in Vietnam have verified at least two other promising leads.