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Chelidae is one of three living families of the turtle suborder Pleurodira, and are commonly called Austro-South American side-neck turtles. The family is distributed in Australia, New Guinea, parts of Indonesia, and throughout most of South America. It is a large family of turtles with a significant fossil history dating back to the Cretaceous. The family is entirely Gondwanan in origin, with no members found outside Gondwana, either in the present day or as a fossil.
The pig-nosed turtle, also known as the pitted-shelled turtle or Fly River turtle, is a species of turtle native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It is the only living member of the family Carettochelyidae, which are related to softshell turtles.
The eastern long-necked turtle is an east Australian species of snake-necked turtle that inhabits a wide variety of water bodies and is an opportunistic feeder. It is a side-necked turtle (Pleurodira), meaning that it bends its head sideways into its shell rather than pulling it directly back.
Chelodina, collectively known as snake-necked turtles, is a large and diverse genus of long-necked chelid turtles with a complicated nomenclatural history. Although in the past, Macrochelodina and Macrodiremys have been considered separate genera and prior to that all the same, they are now considered subgenera of the Chelodina, further Macrochelodina and Macrodiremys are now known to apply to the same species, hence Chelydera is used for the northern snake-necked turtles.
Irwin's turtle is a rare species of freshwater turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is endemic to Australia, originating from the lower region of the Burdekin River area in northern Queensland, and was named after conservationist and television personality Steve Irwin.
The Mary River turtle is an endangered short-necked turtle that is endemic to the Mary River in south-east Queensland, Australia. Although these turtles were known to inhabit the Mary River for nearly 30 years, it was not until 1994 that they were recognised as a new species. There has been a dramatic decrease in their population due to low reproduction rates and an increase of depredation on nests.
Parker's snake-necked turtle is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae.
The northern snake-necked turtle or northern long-necked turtle is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae or Austro-South American Side-necked Turtles. It is native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea.
The Namoi River snapping turtle, also commonly known as Bell's turtle, the Namoi River elseya, or Bell's saw-shelled turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is endemic to New South Wales, Australia.
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.
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. They can grow quite large, 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.
The red-bellied short-necked turtle, also known commonly as the pink-bellied side-necked turtle and the Jardine River turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is native to Australia and New Guinea. There are two recognized subspecies.
The Myuchelys is a genus of turtles, the Australian saw-shelled turtles, in the family Chelidae and subfamily Chelodininae. They inhabit the headwaters and tributaries of rivers within their range and this led to the name Myuchelys, which is formed from the Aboriginal word myuna meaning clear water and the Greek chelys meaning turtle. They have a short neck and the intergular scute completely separates the gular scutes. They have no alveolar ridge separating them from the snapping turtles of the genus Elseya.
Elseya albagula, commonly known as the white-throated snapping turtle, is one of the largest species of chelid turtles in the world, growing to about 45 cm (18 in) carapace length.
Chelodina canni, also known commonly as Cann's snake-necked turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is endemic to Australia, where it is found in the northern and northeastern parts of the continent. It has a narrow zone of hybridization with its related species the eastern snake-necked turtle, C. longicollis. For many years C. canni was assumed to be the same species as C. novaeguineae from New Guinea. However, in 2002 it was shown that these two species differ both morphologically and genetically, and therefore C. canni was separated and described as a unique species.
The Gulf snapping turtle or Lavaracks' turtle is a large species of freshwater turtle in the sidenecked family Chelidae. The species is endemic to northern Australia in northwest Queensland and northeast Northern Territory. The species, similar to other members of the Australian snapping turtles in genus Elseya, only comes ashore to lay eggs and bask. The Gulf snapping turtle is a herbivore and primarily consumes Pandanus and figs.
Chelodina (Chelydera) burrungandjii, the sandstone snake-necked turtle or Arnhem Land long-necked turtle, is a medium-sized turtle reaching carapace lengths of 316 mm. The species is found in the sandstone plateaus and escarpments and the plunge pools of Arnhem Land of the Northern Territory. The species had been long recognised as valid. However, it had been difficult to research due to the remoteness of its habitat. Efforts to breed this species in captivity had been largely unsuccessful, until National Aquarium Herpetologist Matthew Benedict lead a successful breeding project in 2021. The species occurs in proximity to Chelodina rugosa, to which it is closely related. For the most part the two species are parapatric in distribution. However, they do come together in limited locations such as plunge pools at the base of the escarpments. In these areas there is hybridization between the species.
Emydura macquarii is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. It is a wide-ranging species that occurs throughout many of the rivers of the eastern half of Australia. It is found primarily in the Macquarie River basin and all its major tributaries, along with a number of coastal rivers up the New South Wales Coast. It is also found in the coastal Queensland rivers and the Cooper Creek ecosystem, along with Fraser Island.
Chelodina steindachneri, commonly known as the dinner-plate turtle, Steindachner's turtle and or Steindachner's flat-shell turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is the least known of the Australian turtles and also one of the smallest members of the long-necked turtles of the genus Chelodina. It is a member of the subgenus Chelodina making it closely related to the Chelodina longicollis group of species.
Chelodina (Chelydera) kuchlingi, commonly known as Kuchling's long-necked turtle or Kuchling's turtle, is a species of freshwater turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is endemic to Australia.
References
- 1 2 Sue Jue, Lindsay (September 1998). "Description and life-cycle of two new species of Choanocotyle n. g. (Trematoda: Plagiorchiida), parasites of Australian freshwater turtles, and the erection of the family Choanocotylidae". Systematic Parasitology. 41 (1): 47–61. doi:10.1023/A:1006074125118. S2CID 26915071.
