The diversity of animals around the world is impressive. Due to the differences between biomes and vegetation, the number of animal species that are not yet well known is surprising. However, due to increasingly abnormal climate changes, as well as factors such as pollution, deforestation and animal trafficking, it has become increasingly common for species to go extinct.
So, to identify what is the rarest animal in the world, this one needs to be really special and, unfortunately, in limited quantity.
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Popularly known as the soft shell turtle, this is a reptile of the Trionychidae family. Unfortunately, as a result of human practices, this species came to receive the title of “rarest animal in the world”.
One of the contributors to their near extinction, in addition to environmental pollution, is the popularity of their meat. Another contributing factor to the risk of extinction of this animal is the high use of its bladder, which is widely used for medicinal purposes.
Inhabitant of the regions of China and Vietnam, this turtle became known for the first time in 1873, through a British Museum specialist, John Edward Gray. It soon gained wide recognition, being described as “the most beautiful species” ever seen by Gray.
Despite being categorized in 1873, its history goes back much further. According to studies and research carried out on the species, the reptile genus Rafetus is very old. The species Rafetus swinhoei and Rafetus euphractus were the result of geographic isolation that occurred 50-55 million years ago.
Due to the collision of India with Eurasia, and the formation of the Himalayas, the species were separated, and thus generated a different evolution for each one. Thus, Rafetus swinhoei became the species that feeds on crabs, fish, snails, frogs, aquatic plants and leaves.
