Kim Qui
| Hoàn Kiếm turtle | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Family: | Trionychidae |
| Genus: | Rafetus |
| Species: | R. leloii |
| Binomial name | |
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Rafetus leloii (Đức, 2000) |
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| Synonyms | |
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The Hoàn Kiếm turtle (Rafetus leloii) was a controversial taxon of turtle from Southeast Asia, found in Hoàn Kiếm Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam. Although some Vietnamese biologists assert that R. leloii is a distinct species from the Yangtze giant softshell turtle Rafetus swinhoei, of which there are only three living specimens left in the world, most authorities classify it as synonymous with the latter species. If the two taxa are to be considered distinct, R. leloii may be considered extinct.
The last individual, affectionately known to locals as "Cụ Rùa", meaning “great grandfather turtle” in Vietnamese, was reported dead on 19 January 2016. A local saw the body of the turtle floating and reported it to the authority. The last time the turtle was spotted alive was on 21 December 2015.
Most authorities classify leloii as a junior synonym of the Yangtze giant softshell turtle, based a study by Farkas et al. However, some Vietnamese biologists, such as Hà Đình Đức, who first described leloii, and Le Tran Binh, insist that the two turtles are not the same species. Le points out genetic differences as well as differences in morphology, re-describing the Hoan Kiem turtle as Rafetus vietnamensis. However, Farkas et al. repeated their 2003 conclusion in 2011, stating that differences between specimens may be due to age. They also pointed out that Le et al. did not adequately describe their methods for DNA sequencing, and that the genetic sequences used were never sent to GenBank. They also criticized the fact that Le et al. violated ICZN Code by renaming the species from leloii to vietnamensis on the grounds of “appropriateness”. Another genetic analysis was purportedly when the turtle was rescued and cleaned, which allegedly showed it to be female and distinct from the R. swinhoei of China and Đồng Mô, Vietnam. However, the results were not formally announced or ever published in a peer-reviewed research article, and some skepticism has been cast on the results.
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Wikipedia