The Chelidae are one of three living families of the turtle suborder Pleurodira and are commonly called the 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.
Heosemys is a genus of freshwater turtles in the family Geoemydidae. The genus Heosemys was split out of the related genus Geoemyda by McDowell in 1964.
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.
Macrochelys is a genus of very large freshwater turtles in the family Chelydridae from Southeastern United States. Only a single extant species was recognized until a 2014 study divided it into several species.
The Mary River turtle is an endangered short-necked turtle that is endemic to the Mary River in south-east Queensland, Australia.
Rafetus is a genus of highly endangered softshell turtles in the family Trionychidae. It is a genus of large turtles which are found in freshwater habitats in Asia.
The painted terrapin, painted batagur, or saw-jawed turtle is a species of turtles in the family Geoemydidae. It was formerly in its own genus, Callagur, but has been reclassified to the genus, Batagur.
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. 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 and notable subspecies arranged according to most recent review of Georges & Thomson, 2010 are:
Sometimes called the bearded toadheads but better known by their scientific name of Phrynops this genus of turtles has often been a bit of a dumping ground for the short-necked South American turtles of the family Chelidae.
Maurice Kottelat is a Swiss ichthyologist specializing in Eurasian freshwater fishes.
Thiaridae, common name thiarids or trumpet snails, is a family of tropical freshwater snails with an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Cerithioidea.
Cyclemys is a genus of freshwater turtles, commonly referred to as Asian leaf turtles, from the family Geoemydidae. The genus occurs throughout Southeast and South Asia, and currently contains seven species.
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.
Batagur is a genus of large turtles from South and Southeast Asia. All members of the genus are seriously threatened. With a recent merger with members from two other genera, this genus has six described species.
Chelodina (Macrochelodina) burrungandjii, the sandstone snake-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. The species occurs in proximity to Chelodina oblonga, 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.
Hemisinus is a genus of freshwater snails with an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Thiaridae.
Rohan David Pethiyagoda, is one of Sri Lanka's leading naturalists and a taxonomist on Freshwater fish of Sri Lanka.
Chelodina (Macrochelodina) walloyarrina, the Kimberley long neck turtle, is a large species of long neck turtle endemic to the Kimberley region of Western Australia. In recent years it has been unclear as to whether this was a valid species or not. It has been recognised as such by the latest version of the Turtle Checklist.
