Elseya

Elseya
Elseya lavarackorum
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Pleurodira
Family: Chelidae
Subfamily: Chelodininae
Genus: Elseya
Gray, 1867
Type species
Chelymys dentata
Synonyms

Chelymys Gray, 1844
Euchelymys Gray, 1871
Pelocomastes De Vis, 1897

Elseya is a genus of large side-necked turtles, commonly known as Australian snapping turtles, in the family Chelidae. Species in the genus Elseya are found in river systems in northern and northeastern Australia and throughout the river systems of New Guinea. They are identified by the presence of alveolar ridges on the triturating surfaces of the mouth and the presence of a complex bridge strut.

The Australian snapping turtles are largely herbivorous, with specialized mouth structures for eating fruits. However, they will eat animal products if opportunity arises. The various species can be found in large numbers where they are still abundant, e.g., Northern Territory of Australia. However, a number of the populations have become increasingly rare, and some are now listed as endangered.

Systematics

Etymology

John Edward Gray created the generic name, Elseya, in 1867 in honour of Dr. Joseph Ravenscroft Elsey, a surgeon-naturalist on the Gregory Expedition that traversed northern Australia from the Victoria River to Moreton Bay in 1855–1856.

List of species

The genus was originally described by Gray in 1867 with the type species being set as Elseya dentata. The fossil genus Pelocomastes was later synonymised with this genus. Following the recent revisions of this genus, the latisternum group has been moved to the new genus Myuchelys. The remaining species of this genus have additionally been separated into three subgenera, Elseya, Pelocomastes, and Hanwarachelys, and the species redistributed among them.

Common name Scientific name IUCN Red List Status Picture
Subgenus: Elseya
Northern snapping turtle Elseya dentata
(Gray, 1863)
LC
Branderhorst's snapping turtle Elseya branderhorsti
(Ouwens, 1914)
VU IUCN
Yellow-bellied snapping turtle Elseya flaviventralis
Thomson & Georges, 2016
LC
Elseya kalumburu
Joseph-Ouni, McCord, & Cann, 2022
Subgenus: Pelocomastes
White-throated snapping turtle Elseya albagula
Thomson, Georges & Limpus, 2006
EN
Irwin's turtle Elseya irwini
Cann, 1997
NE
Gulf snapping turtle Elseya lavarackorum
(White & Archer, 1994)
NE
Subgenus: Hanwarachelys
Elseya caelatus
Joseph-Ouni, & McCord, 2019
Merauke snapping turtle Elseya papua
Joseph-Ouni & McCord, 2022
Western New Guinea stream turtle Elseya novaeguineae
(Meyer, 1874)
LC IUCN
Nabire snapping turtle Elseya nabire
Joseph-Ouni & McCord, 2022
Southern New Guinea stream turtle Elseya rhodini
Thomson, Amapou, Anamiato & Georges, 2015
Northern New Guinea stream turtle Elseya schultzei
(T. Vogt, 1911)
LC
Subgenus: Solomonemys
Guadalcanal snapping turtle Elseya auramemoria
Joseph-Ouni, McCord, & Dwyer, 2022
Malaita snapping turtle Elseya eidolon
Joseph-Ouni, McCord, & Dwyer, 2022

Extinct species

Fossil of Elseya uberrima

There are two identified extinct species of Elseya. Elseya nadibajagu Thomson & Mackness, 1999 and Elseya uberrima (De Vis, 1897) are prehistoric species known only from fossils. E. lavarackorum was initially believed also to be a fossil taxon, but later discovered to be still extant. Elseya nadibajagu is a Pliocene species of extinct Australian snapping turtle, described from the Bluff Downs region of Queensland, Australia.; whereas Elseya uberrima is a Pleistocene species described from the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia.


This page was last updated at 2023-11-27 11:27 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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