Rafetus

Rafetus is a genus of highly endangered softshell turtles in the family Trionychidae. It is a genus of large turtles which are found in freshwater habitats in Eurasia.

Species
According to most taxonomists, the genus Rafetus contains the following two extant species.
 * Rafetus euphraticus (Daudin, 1801) – Euphrates softshell turtle
 * Rafetus swinhoei (Gray, 1873) – Yangtze giant softshell turtle

A possible third species, Rafetus leloii Hà, 2000 (synonym R. vietnamensis Le et al., 2010), known commonly as the Hoan Kiem turtle, has been proposed as a species. It is considered a junior synonym of Rafetus swinhoei by most authorities, but some Vietnamese scientists insist the two forms are not identical. The last known individual at Hoan Kiem Lake was found dead on 19 January 2016.

An extinct species R. bohemicus Liebus, 1930 from the Burdigalian age (Early Miocene) about 17.5 million years ago lived in what is today the Czech Republic.

Cladogram
As drawn by Walter G. Joyce, Ariel Revan, Tyler R. Lyson, and Igor G. Danilov (2009)

Distribution

 * Rafetus euphraticus: had been found at Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Khūzestān Province of Iran. The International Union for Conservation of Nature rates it as Endangered.
 * Rafetus swinhoei: Only three known living individuals, one in Suzhou Zoo (China) and two in two lakes in northern Vietnam, Dong Mo lake and Xuan Khanh lake. IUCN rates it as critically endangered.