Trionychidae

Trionychidae is a family of turtles, commonly known as softshell turtles or simply softshells. The family was described by Leopold Fitzinger in 1826. Softshells include some of the world's largest freshwater turtles, though many can adapt to living in highly brackish waters. Members of this family occur in Africa, Asia, and North America, with extinct species known from Australia. Most species have traditionally been included in the genus Trionyx, but the vast majority have since been moved to other genera. Among these are the North American Apalone softshells that were placed in Trionyx until 1987.

Trionychidae

Uncredited · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
softshell turtlePBDB
Sits inside
CryptodiraPBDB
Diet
piscivore, carnivorePBDB
Life habit
aquatic, solitaryPBDB
Motility
actively mobilePBDB
Environment
brackish,freshwaterPBDB

Time the record covers

At least 121 million years on record.

The record covers at least 121.4 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 143.1 Mya to 0 Mya.

Late Jurassic — about 0 of 1409 occurrencesEarly Cretaceous — about 19 of 1409 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 545 of 1409 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 89 of 1409 occurrencesEocene — about 279 of 1409 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 48 of 1409 occurrencesMiocene — about 274 of 1409 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 58 of 1409 occurrencesPleistocene — about 82 of 1409 occurrences146–141 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences141–136 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences136–131 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences131–127 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences127–122 Mya — about 2 occurrences122–117 Mya — about 4 occurrences117–112 Mya — about 4 occurrences112–107 Mya — about 3 occurrences107–102 Mya — about 3 occurrences102–97 Mya — about 15 occurrences97–92 Mya — about 19 occurrences92–88 Mya — about 12 occurrences88–83 Mya — about 42 occurrences83–78 Mya — about 103 occurrences78–73 Mya — about 103 occurrences73–68 Mya — about 173 occurrences68–63 Mya — about 138 occurrences63–58 Mya — about 18 occurrences58–54 Mya — about 50 occurrences54–49 Mya — about 70 occurrences49–44 Mya — about 57 occurrences44–39 Mya — about 60 occurrences39–34 Mya — about 55 occurrences34–29 Mya — about 24 occurrences29–24 Mya — about 20 occurrences24–19 Mya — about 51 occurrences19–15 Mya — about 90 occurrences15–9.7 Mya — about 85 occurrences9.7–4.9 Mya — about 64 occurrences4.9–0 Mya — about 146 occurrences121.4 Mya11.7 ka146 Mya0 Mya

1,409 occurrences of Trionychidae on record, most of them in the Late Cretaceous. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

1,409 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

310 formations

Hell Creek — 47.80°N, 106.10°WHell Creek — 47.68°N, 106.43°WHell Creek — 45.95°N, 103.96°WHell Creek — 46.10°N, 103.30°WHell Creek — 46.03°N, 103.77°WHell Creek — 46.18°N, 103.84°WHell Creek — 46.41°N, 103.94°WHell Creek — 46.38°N, 103.96°WHell Creek — 46.46°N, 104.02°WHell Creek — 46.33°N, 103.90°WHell Creek — 45.94°N, 103.95°WHell Creek — 47.55°N, 107.13°WHell Creek — 47.62°N, 107.32°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 106.98°WHell Creek — 47.57°N, 107.10°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 106.40°WHell Creek — 47.55°N, 107.25°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 107.18°WHell Creek — 47.07°N, 106.92°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 106.27°WHell Creek — 47.53°N, 106.88°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 107.23°WHell Creek — 46.90°N, 101.50°WHell Creek — 46.09°N, 100.63°WHell Creek — 47.61°N, 106.90°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 107.00°WHell Creek — 46.70°N, 100.25°WHell Creek — 46.41°N, 103.50°WHell Creek — 46.33°N, 104.01°WHell Creek — 45.23°N, 103.21°WHell Creek — 45.66°N, 105.08°WHell Creek — 45.89°N, 104.55°WHell Creek — 45.59°N, 103.50°WHell Creek — 45.87°N, 103.79°WHell Creek — 45.53°N, 101.63°WHell Creek — 45.00°N, 103.19°WKirtland — 36.37°N, 108.57°WKirtland — 36.31°N, 108.08°WKirtland — 36.27°N, 108.17°WKirtland — 36.16°N, 107.93°WKirtland — 36.50°N, 108.08°WKirtland — 36.20°N, 108.10°WKirtland — 36.14°N, 108.11°WKirtland — 36.29°N, 108.54°WKirtland — 36.51°N, 108.32°WDenver — 39.70°N, 104.70°WDenver — 38.80°N, 104.80°WDenver — 39.60°N, 105.03°WDenver — 39.84°N, 105.04°WDenver — 39.95°N, 105.23°WDenver — 39.70°N, 105.20°WDenver — 39.75°N, 105.22°WDenver — 38.89°N, 104.60°WDenver — 39.30°N, 104.30°WDenver — 39.63°N, 104.33°WDenver — 39.50°N, 104.70°WDenver — 38.91°N, 104.53°WNemegt — 43.44°N, 100.37°ENemegt — 47.73°N, 104.92°ENemegt — 44.07°N, 102.67°ENemegt — 43.87°N, 100.01°ENemegt — 43.47°N, 99.83°ENemegt — 43.60°N, 100.50°ENemegt — 43.50°N, 101.05°ENemegt — 43.48°N, 100.36°ENemegt — 43.48°N, 100.46°ENemegt — 43.82°N, 99.98°ENemegt — 43.49°N, 101.28°ENemegt — 43.54°N, 99.60°ENemegt — 43.54°N, 99.22°ENemegt — 44.44°N, 109.86°ENemegt — 43.85°N, 100.14°ENemegt — 43.00°N, 99.00°EDinosaur Park — 49.12°N, 110.47°WDinosaur Park — 50.82°N, 111.57°WDinosaur Park — 50.74°N, 111.49°WDinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.46°WDinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.40°WDinosaur Park — 50.78°N, 111.33°WDinosaur Park — 49.07°N, 110.45°WDinosaur Park — 50.72°N, 111.56°WLance — 43.30°N, 104.37°WLance — 41.57°N, 108.67°WLance — 43.18°N, 104.53°WLance — 43.15°N, 104.57°WLance — 43.25°N, 104.65°WLance — 43.13°N, 104.49°WLance — 43.25°N, 104.52°WLance — 43.00°N, 104.50°WLance — 43.12°N, 104.64°WLance — 45.34°N, 103.72°WLance — 45.39°N, 103.70°WLance — 45.60°N, 103.63°WLance — 45.93°N, 103.92°WFerris — 41.94°N, 106.88°WFerris — 41.80°N, 107.00°WFerris — 41.95°N, 106.89°WKoobi Fora — 3.90°N, 36.24°EKoobi Fora — 3.98°N, 36.32°EKoobi Fora — 4.26°N, 36.28°EKoobi Fora — 4.24°N, 36.26°EKoobi Fora — 4.29°N, 36.23°EKoobi Fora — 3.77°N, 36.44°EKoobi Fora — 3.78°N, 36.33°EKoobi Fora — 3.59°N, 36.24°EKoobi Fora — 3.87°N, 36.37°EKoobi Fora — 3.94°N, 36.25°EKoobi Fora — 4.18°N, 36.42°EKoobi Fora — 4.42°N, 36.25°EBridger — 42.37°N, 108.91°WBridger — 41.54°N, 109.80°WBridger — 41.13°N, 110.13°WBridger — 41.60°N, 109.97°WBridger — 41.22°N, 109.72°WBridger — 41.20°N, 110.50°WBridger — 41.77°N, 110.33°WBridger — 41.84°N, 110.20°WOldman — 50.75°N, 111.51°WOldman — 49.10°N, 110.94°WOldman — 49.08°N, 110.84°WOldman — 49.08°N, 110.68°WOldman — 49.16°N, 110.72°WOldman — 50.83°N, 111.32°WBaynshire — 44.45°N, 107.38°EBaynshire — 44.27°N, 109.91°EBaynshire — 44.18°N, 102.79°EBaynshire — 44.41°N, 109.84°EBaynshire — 43.50°N, 107.76°EBaynshire — 43.56°N, 107.91°EBaynshire — 44.46°N, 109.40°EBaynshire — 44.36°N, 109.35°EBaynshire — 43.47°N, 99.83°EBaynshire — 43.14°N, 107.52°EBaynshire — 44.35°N, 109.35°EBaynshire — 43.94°N, 101.33°EBaynshire — 43.75°N, 109.63°ESan Jose — 35.70°N, 107.00°WSan Jose — 35.20°N, 106.60°WJudith River — 46.47°N, 109.30°WJudith River — 46.46°N, 109.41°WJudith River — 48.93°N, 110.58°WJudith River — 46.10°N, 109.10°WJudith River — 46.40°N, 109.66°WJudith River — 47.72°N, 109.64°WJudith River — 46.76°N, 108.00°WJudith River — 46.28°N, 109.51°WJudith River — 47.77°N, 108.95°WJudith River — 46.35°N, 109.22°WJudith River — 46.42°N, 109.27°WJudith River — 46.44°N, 109.83°WFruitland — 36.29°N, 108.23°WFruitland — 36.49°N, 108.49°WFruitland — 36.27°N, 108.26°WFruitland — 36.12°N, 107.78°WFruitland — 36.29°N, 108.55°WFruitland — 36.31°N, 108.08°WUinta — 40.20°N, 109.90°WUinta — 40.37°N, 109.64°WUinta — 40.16°N, 109.32°WUinta — 40.07°N, 109.28°WAguja — 29.32°N, 103.52°WAguja — 29.20°N, 103.55°WAguja — 29.30°N, 103.57°WHeadon Beds — 50.72°N, 1.59°WPondaung — 21.62°N, 94.85°EPondaung — 21.95°N, 94.53°EPondaung — 21.92°N, 94.53°EPondaung — 21.75°N, 94.68°EKhodzhakul — 40.10°N, 65.80°EKhodzhakul — 42.37°N, 60.03°ETienen — 50.42°N, 4.22°ETienen — 50.70°N, 4.98°ETienen — 50.33°N, 4.28°ETienen — 50.82°N, 5.10°ETienen — 50.33°N, 4.07°ETudela — 42.06°N, 1.55°WTudela — 42.07°N, 1.61°WLaramie — 40.39°N, 104.49°WLaramie — 39.73°N, 105.05°WLaramie — 39.50°N, 104.70°WUpper Freshwater Molasse — 48.15°N, 9.88°EUpper Freshwater Molasse — 48.44°N, 11.04°EUpper Freshwater Molasse — 48.09°N, 10.03°EUpper Freshwater Molasse — 48.63°N, 11.80°EUpper Freshwater Molasse — 47.67°N, 8.93°EUpper Freshwater Molasse — 47.92°N, 10.59°EUpper Freshwater Molasse — 48.16°N, 10.11°EWillwood — 43.95°N, 107.57°WWillwood — 44.62°N, 108.81°WWillwood — 44.30°N, 109.00°WWillwood — 43.92°N, 107.58°WWillwood — 43.92°N, 108.66°WWillwood — 44.30°N, 108.07°WWillwood — 44.50°N, 108.00°WWillwood — 43.99°N, 107.72°W

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The named rock units Trionychidae has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 286 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 337 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Trionychidae and its relatives

Late Cretaceous

Where Trionychidae and its relatives were recorded in the Late Cretaceous.

Found in the same rock

2,692 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 1,211 sites for Trionychidae, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

494 references

Each of the 1,409 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 482 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Trionychidae

Credit
nobody named on the record
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution-NonCommercial
Commercial use
the licence does not allow it

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itCryptodira through timeFormations of the Late CretaceousThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Gray 1825)