Cyclanorbinae, also known commonly as the flapshell turtles, is a subfamily of softshell

turtles Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tur ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Trionychidae The Trionychidae are a taxonomic family of a number of turtle genera, commonly known as softshell turtles. The family was erected by Leopold Fitzinger in 1826. Softshells include some of the world's largest freshwater turtles, though many can a ...

. The subfamily is native to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Taxonomy

Morphological evidence supports Cyclanorbinae being the sister group to the Plastomeninae, an extinct subfamily of softshell turtles that inhabited North America from the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

to the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

Genera

The subfamily Cyclanorbinae contains the following three extant genera.

Turtle Taxonomy Working Group The Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (TTWG) is an informal working group of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG). It is composed of a number of leading turtle Taxonomy (biology), taxonomists, with varying participation b ...

(Rhodin, Anders G.J.; Parham, James F.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Iverson, John B.) (2009
"Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy and Synonymy, 2009 Update".
''Chelonian Research Monographs'' (5): 000.39-000.84. (Cyclanorbinae, pp. 000.55-000.56). *'' Cyclanorbis'' *'' Cycloderma'' *''

Lissemys ''Lissemys'' is a genus of softshell turtles in the subfamily Cyclanorbinae of the Family (biology), family Trionychidae. The genus is indigenous to southern Asia. Species The genus ''Lissemys'' contains three extant species which are recognize ...

'' One extinct prehistoric genus is also known from

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

remains: '' Nemegtemys'' , from the

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

Geographic range

Species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the genera ''Cyclanorbis'' and ''Cycloderma'' are found in Africa; species in the genus ''Lissemys'' are found in Asia."Cyclanorbinae". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

Taxonomy

Genera

Geographic range

References

Further reading