Wikipedia
Nilssonia is a genus of softshell turtles ( family Trionychidae) from rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes in South Asia and Burma. In many treatments, it is monotypic, with the single species Burmese peacock softshell (N. formosa). However, the supposed other genus of peacock softshells, Aspideretes, is more closely related to N. formosa than had been believed. They differ only in the neural plates between the first pleural scale pair of the bony carapace, which are fused into one in N. formosa and unfused in the others.
Thus, it has been proposed to unite the two genera under the older name, Nilssonia. As it seems, the closest living relatives of the Burmese peacock softshell are the Indian softshell turtle (A./N. gangeticus) and the Leith's softshell turtle (A./N. leithii), making the merging of the genera well warranted.
Nilssonia may refer to:
- Nilssonia (turtle), a softshell turtle genus
- Nilssonia (plant), a form genus of Mesozoic leaf fossils
Nilssonia is an extinct genus of plants belonging to Bennettitales, which were similar to cycads in growth form and leaf morphology, but completely different in reproductive structures. Bennettitales were found around the globe during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous.