---
title: "Chinese Softshell Turtle"
description: "Pelodiscus sinensis — Reptiles. The Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) is a species of softshell turtle that is native to mainland China (Inner Mongolia to Guangxi, including Hong Kong) and Taiwan, with records of escapees—some of which have established introduced populations—in a wide range of other Asian countries, as well as Spain, Brazil and Hawaii."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/chinese-softshell-turtle
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Chinese Softshell Turtle

> Pelodiscus sinensis — Reptiles. The Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) is a species of softshell turtle that is native to mainland China (Inner Mongolia to Guangxi, including Hong Kong) and Taiwan, with records of escapees—some of which have established introduced populations—in a wide range of other Asian countries, as well as Spain, Brazil and Hawaii.

- Scientific name: *Pelodiscus sinensis*
- Category: `reptiles` (Reptiles)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 2349
- Wikidata: [Q754028](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q754028)
- iNaturalist taxon: [68334](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/68334)

## Names

- en: Chinese Softshell Turtle
- de: Chinesische Weichschildkröte
- es: Tortuga china de caparazón blando
- fr: Trionyx de Chine
- nl: Chinese drieklauw
- pl: Żółwiak chiński

## Countries with the most observations

TW (686), JP (409), CN (187), US (109), HK (83), ID (32), TH (32), PH (26), KR (23), VN (19), MU (14), FR (10)

## Summary

The Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) is a species of softshell turtle that is native to mainland China (Inner Mongolia to Guangxi, including Hong Kong) and Taiwan, with records of escapees—some of which have established introduced populations—in a wide range of other Asian countries, as well as Spain, Brazil and Hawaii.
Populations native to Northeast China, Russia, Korea and Japan were formerly included in this species, but are now regarded as separate as the northern Chinese softshell turtle (P. maackii). Furthermore, localized populations in Guangxi and Hunan (where the Chinese softshell turtle also…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_softshell_turtle

## Photo

![Chinese Softshell Turtle](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/chinese-softshell-turtle/medium.jpg)

Photo: jpuf · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/173381791

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/chinese-softshell-turtle?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).