NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Nile Soft-shelled Turtle
Trionyx triunguis (Forskål, 1775)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The African softshell turtle, or Nile softshell turtle (Trionyx triunguis), is a large species of softshell turtle from freshwater and brackish-water habitats in Africa (larger parts of Eastern, Northeastern, Western and Middle Africa) and the Near East (Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey). It is the only extant species in the genus Trionyx; historically, despite other species having been formerly placed in this genus as well, they have all been reclassified to other genera.
Despite the common name of "African softshell turtle", Trionyx triunguis is not the sole species (or genus) of softshell turtle found in Africa—the genera Cyclanorbis and Cycloderma are African—nor is it solely found on that continent, alone.
Wikipedia contributors, African softshell turtle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:54:34.444335+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Trionyx triunguis (Forskål, 1775)
- Name authority
- (Forskål, 1775)
- Common name
- Nile Soft-shelled Turtle
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Testudines
- Family
- Trionychidae
- Genus
- Trionyx
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderTestudines Batsch, 1788
- suborderCryptodira
- superfamilyTrionychoidea
- familyTrionychidae
- genusTrionyx
- speciesTrionyx triunguis (Forskål, 1775)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Trionyx niloticus Gray, 1831 Gray, 1831 | synonym |
| Fordia africana Gray, 1869 Gray, 1869 | synonym |
| Trionyx mortoni Hallowell, 1844 Hallowell, 1844 | synonym |
| Trionyx labiatus Bell, 1837 Bell, 1837 | synonym |
| Testudo triunguis Forskål, 1775 Forskål, 1775 | synonym |
| Trionyx triunguis rudolfianus Deraniyagala, 1948 Deraniyagala, 1948 | synonym |
| Aspidonectes aspilus Cope, 1860 Cope, 1860 | synonym |
| Trionyx aegytiacus Geoffroy, 1809 Geoffroy, 1809 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Trionyx&species=triunguis Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:58WKP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.