Emydura

Emydura, the Australian short-necked turtles, are a genus of turtles in the family Chelidae. It was paraphyletic with Elseya. Consequently, it was split into two genera Myuchelys and Elseya by Thomson & Georges, 2009.[4] They can grow quite large,[5] 30 cm or more is not unusual and have a life span of around 20–30 years. They generally do not hibernate as their warmer climate lets them remain active all year round; they also spend more time in the water than other varieties. They are considered omnivore but rely on a constant supply of meat to remain healthy, feeding on basically anything that will fit into their mouth.

Australian short-necked turtles
Macquarie turtle
Emydura macquarii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Pleurodira
Family: Chelidae
Subfamily: Chelodininae
Genus: Emydura
Bonaparte 1836[1]
Species

6, and see text

Synonyms[2][3]
  • Emydura Bonaparte 1836:7
  • Emydura
    Bonaparte 1836:7
  • Chelymys
    Gray 1844:42
  • Euchelymys
    Gray 1871:118
  • Tropicochelymys
    Wells and Wellington 1985:9

They are characterised by a white strip starting at their nose and leading down their neck, as well as a more rigged shell. In Australia, the public require a basic reptiles licence to purchase these animals; taking from the wild is strictly prohibited.

Species

Species and notable subspecies arranged according to most recent review of Georges & Thomson, 2010[2] with some modification after Kehlmaier et al. 2019[6][2] are:

  • Kreftt's river turtle

References
  1. Bonaparte, C.L. 1836. Cheloniorum Tabula Analytica. Rome, 9 pp.
  2. Georges, A. & Thomson, S. 2010. Diversity of Australasian freshwater turtles, with an annotated synonymy and keys to species. Zootaxa 2496: 1–37.
  3. Turtle Taxonomy Working Group [van Dijk, P.P., Iverson, J.B., Rhodin, A.G.J., Shaffer, H.B., and Bour, R.]. 2014. Turtles of the world, 7th edition: annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution with maps, and conservation status. In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Pritchard, P.C.H., van Dijk, P.P., Saumure, R.A., Buhlmann, K.A., Iverson, J.B., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs 5(7):000.329–479, doi:10.3854/ crm.5.000.checklist.v7.2014.
  4. Thomson, S. & Georges, A. (2009) Myuchelys gen. nov. —a new genus for Elseya latisternum and related forms of Australian freshwater turtle (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae) Zootaxa 2053: 32–42.
  5. Fitzsimmons, Craig (24 December 2019). "Desert turtle thriving in outback's boom or bust drought conditions". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  6. Kehlmaier, C., Zhang, X., Georges, A., Campbell, P.D., Thomson, S., & Fritz, U. 2019. Mitogenomics of historical type specimens of Australasian turtles: clarification of taxonomic confusion and old mitochondrial introgression. Scientific Reports (2019) 9:5841 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-42310-x
  7. Gray, J.E. 1830. A synopsis of the species of the class Reptilia. pp 1-110 in Griffith, E. The animal kingdom arranged in conformity with its organisation by the Baron Cuvier. London: Whitaker and Treacher and Co. 9:481 + 110pp.
  8. Krefft, G. 1876. Notes on Australian animals in New Guinea with description of a new freshwater tortoise belonging to the genus Euchelymys. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale de Genova. 1:390-394.
  9. Cann, J. 1997. The northern yellow-faced turtle. Monitor 9(1):24-29, 34-35.
  10. Gray, J.E. 1841. Description of some hitherto unrecorded species of Australian reptiles and batrachians. pp 51-57. in Gray, J.E. Zoological Miscellaney. London: Treutal, Wurtz and Co.
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