Spotted Softshell Turtle Release Boosts Reptile Conservation in Vietnam

The rewilding of 50 captive-bred spotted softshell turtles has sparked hope for this reptile conservation among conservationists for the future of the rare and threatened species in Vietnam, a country where softshell turtles are widely considered a culinary delicacy.

Vietnam’s struggling population of spotted softshell turtles received a helping hand in December 2023 when researchers released 50 captive-bred hatchlings into a freshwater lake in a northern province. Now, new research indicates where further wild releases could result in the most reptile conservation gains for the rare and threatened species, which was only described by scientists as recently as 2019.

Spotted softshell turtles (Pelodiscus variegatus), were previously considered part of the genetically and morphologically variable Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis), a widely distributed species ranging from eastern Russia through China and Korea to Vietnam.

However, scientists now classify Chinese softshell turtles as a species complex comprising seven separate species, one of which is the spotted softshell turtle.

A Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis), the species complex from which spotted softshell turtles were identified in 2019 and millions of which are farmed for their meat in many parts of the world each year. Image by J. Maughn via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

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