The lesser Chinese softshell turtle (''Pelodiscus parviformis'') is a species of turtle in the family Trionychidae. It is endemic to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, where it inhabits a small range in

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

and Hunan provinces. Populations of this species in Vietnam and Hainan are now considered to belong to a separate species, the

spotted softshell turtle The spotted softshell turtle (''Pelodiscus variegatus'') is a species of turtle in the family Trionychidae. It is found in Indochina, where it is largely restricted to most of Vietnam; however, an isolated population is also known from Haina ...

(''P. variegatus''). There is some controversy within researchers over whether or not ''P. parviformis'' is a valid species, but a study in 2015 reaffirmed it as such. It has been proposed that this species be considered as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to its restricted range and the heavy level of exploitation it receives.

References

Pelodiscus Reptiles described in 1997 Reptiles of China Turtles of Asia Endemic fauna of China {{Turtle-stub