Elseya
Template:Short description Template:Automatic taxobox
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.[1] They are identified by the presence of alveolar ridges on the triturating surfaces of the mouth and the presence of a complex bridge strut.[2]
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[3] 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.[4] Following the recent revisions of this genus, the latisternum group has been moved to the new genus Myuchelys.[5] The remaining species of this genus have additionally been separated into three subgenera, Elseya, Pelocomastes, and Hanwarachelys, and the species redistributed among them.[6]
Extinct species
There are two identified extinct species of Elseya. Elseya nadibajagu Thomson & Mackness, 1999Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[16] and Elseya uberrima (De Vis, 1897)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[17] 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.[2] Elseya nadibajagu is a Pliocene species of extinct Australian snapping turtle, described from the Bluff Downs region of Queensland, Australia.;[18] whereas Elseya uberrima is a Pleistocene species described from the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia.[19]
Notes
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ a b Thomson S, Georges A, Limpus C (2006). "A New Species of Freshwater Turtle in the Genus Elseya (Testudines: Chelidae) from Central Coastal Queensland, Australia". Chelon. Conserv. Biol. 5 (1): 74–86. PDF fulltext Template:Webarchive
- ↑ a b Thomson S, White A, Georges A (1997). "Re-Evaluation of Emydura lavarackorum: Identification of a Living Fossil". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 42 (1): 327–336.
- ↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. Template:ISBN. (Genus Elseya, p. 83).
- ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ a b Thomson S, Amepou Y, Anamiato J, Georges A (2015). "A new species and subgenus of Elseya (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae) from New Guinea". Zootaxa 4006 (1): 59–82. Preview (PDF)
- ↑ 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 Script error: No such module "CS1 identifiers".
- ↑ Gray JE (1863). "On the species of Chelymys from Australia, with the description of a new species". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Third Series 12: 98–99.
- ↑ Ouwens PA (1914). "List of Dutch East Indian Chelonians in the Buitenzong Zoological Museum". Contributions a la Faune des Indes Néelandaises 1: 29–32.
- ↑ Thomson S, Georges A (2015). "A new species of freshwater turtle of the genus Elseya (Testudinata: Pleurodira: Chelidae) from the Northern Territory of Australia". Zootaxa 4061 (1): 18–28. PDF
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Cann J (1997). "Irwin's Turtle". Monitor 9 (1): 36–40.
- ↑ White AW, Archer M (1994). "Emydura lavarackorum, a new Pleistocene turtle (Pleurodira: Chelidae) from fluviatile deposits at Riversleigh, Northwestern Queensland". Records of the South Australian Museum 27 (2): 160–167.
- ↑ Meyer AB (1874). "Platemys novaeguineae sp. nov. Dr W.H. Peters legte vor: Eine mitteilung von Hrn. Adolf Bernhard Meyer über die von ihm auf Neu-Guinea under den Inseln Jobi, Mysore und Mafoor im Jahre 1873 gesammelten Amphibien ". Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 39: 128–140. (in German).
- ↑ Vogt, Theodor (1911). "Reptilien und Amphibien aus Neu-Guinea". Sitzungsberichte der Gesellschaft der Naturforschender Freunde, Berlin 9: 410–414. (in German).
- ↑ Thomson SA, Mackness BS (1999). "Fossil Turtles from the Early Pliocene Bluff Downs Local Fauna, with a description of a new species of Elseya ". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 123 (3): 101–105.
- ↑ De Vis CW (1897). "The extinct freshwater turtles of Queensland". Annals of the Queensland Museum 3: 3-7.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Thomson SA (2000). "A Revision of the Fossil Chelid Turtles (Pleurodira) Described by C.W. De Vis, 1897". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 45 (2): 593–598. (Brisbane).
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links and further reading
Template:Pleurodira
Template:Taxonbar
Cite error: <ref> tags exist for a group named "lower-alpha", but no corresponding <references group="lower-alpha"/> tag was found