Roti Island snake-necked turtle

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Roti Island snake-necked turtle
Chelodina mccordi - Karlsruhe Zoo 01.jpg
Roti Island snake-necked turtle
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Pleurodira
Family: Chelidae
Genus: Chelodina
Subgenus: Chelodina
Species:
C. mccordi
Binomial name
Chelodina mccordi
Rhodin, 1994 [3]
Synonyms [4] [5]
  • Chelodina mccordi
    Rhodin, 1994
  • Chelodina timorensis
    McCord et al., 2007

The Roti Island snake-necked turtle (Chelodina mccordi), also commonly known as McCord's snakeneck turtle, [6] is a critically endangered turtle species. It is named after Rote Island in Indonesia where it was first discovered. Some individuals were later discovered in East Timor, and are considered a distinct subspecies.

Contents

Taxonomy

Chelodina mccordi belongs to the genus Chelodina (Australian snake-necked turtles) within the family Chelidae (Austro-South American side-necked turtles).

Chelodina mccordi was originally described from Rote Island but was later split into three subspecies. Chelodina mccordi rotensis [7] [8] from eastern Rote and Chelodina mccordi timorensis [9] from Timor. In a recent paper the eastern Rote form was found to be identical to the western form and they were synonymised. [10] This leaves the species with two subspecies one on Rote Island and one on Timor.

History

The Roti Island snake-necked turtle was split from the New Guinea snake-necked turtle and regarded as distinct species in 1994 after Dr. Anders Rhodin, director of the Chelonian Research Foundation Archived 2018-05-27 at the Wayback Machine in Lunenburg (Massachusetts), found differences between the two species. The first snake-necked turtles on Rote Island had been discovered in 1891 by George Albert Boulenger.

Etymology

Both the specific name, mccordi, and one of the common names, McCord's snakeneck turtle, are in honor of Dr. William Patrick McCord (born 1950), a veterinarian and turtle expert [6] from Hopewell Junction, New York.

Description

The carapace of C. mccordi can reach a straight length of 18–24 centimetres (7.1–9.4 in). The color of the carapace is a pale grey brown. Occasionally there are also specimens which have a chestnut-coloured hue. The plastron is a pale buff white. The neck, which is nearly as long as the carapace, is dark brown on the upperparts with round tubercles. The underparts are light beige. The iris is black surrounded by a white ring.

Habitat

The natural habitat of Chelodina mccordi includes swamps, rice terraces, and small lakes.

Reproduction

Adults of C. mccordi may have up to three breeding periods in a year. A typical clutch consists of eight to fourteen eggs. The size of an egg is 30 mm × 20 mm (1.18 in × 0.79 in) and may weigh 8–10 grams (0.28–0.35 oz). The first hatchlings emerge after incubating for three months, and the last hatchlings leave after four months. Upon emerging, a hatchling's shell is about 28 mm × 20 mm (1.10 in × 0.79 in) and has yellow spots on the plastron, which become darker in a few weeks until the entire plastron becomes almost black. As the juveniles grow, their coloration progressively becomes paler until they finally achieve the color of the adults.

Threats

The Roti Island snake-necked turtle is one of the most desired turtles in the international pet trade. Even before it was scientifically described it was so over-collected that the legal trade was prohibited in 2001 due to its rarity. The two or three remaining populations live in an area of only 70 km2 (27 square miles) in the central highlands of Rote Island. It is still illegally captured and it is often offered on markets under the label of the New Guinea snake-necked turtle which is also legally protected. In 2004 it was listed in Appendix II of CITES.

Outside of capture by humans there are few natural threats to this species. There are some reports of predation by feral pigs ( Sus scrofa ) [11] and loss of habitat, but illegal capture and trade remain the primary threat.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chelidae</span> Family of turtles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern long-necked turtle</span> Species of turtle

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.

<i>Chelodina</i> Genus of turtles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western swamp turtle</span> Species of turtle

The western swamp turtle or western swamp tortoise is a critically endangered species of freshwater turtle endemic to a small portion of Western Australia. It is the only member of the genus Pseudemydura in the monotypic subfamily Pseudemydurinae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Guinea snake-necked turtle</span> Species of turtle

The New Guinea snake-necked turtle is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is found almost exclusively within Western Province, Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oblong turtle</span> Species of turtle

The oblong turtle, also known commonly as the narrow-breasted snake-necked turtle and the southwestern snake-necked turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is endemic to the southwestern part of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parker's snake-necked turtle</span> Species of turtle

Parker's snake-necked turtle is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae.

Pritchard's snake-necked turtle is a species of turtles in the family Chelidae. The species is endemic to a restricted area of Central Province, Papua New Guinea.

Reimann's snake-necked turtle is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is endemic to Oceania and Southeast Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern snake-necked turtle</span> Species of turtle

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.

<i>Emydura</i> Genus of turtles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazilian snake-necked turtle</span> Species of turtle

The Brazilian snake-necked turtle, locally known as cágado da serra, and also commonly known as Maximilian's snake-necked turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is endemic to southeastern Brazil. It is one of the smallest Brazilian freshwater turtles reaching a maximum straight carapace length of 20 cm (7.9 in). The species prefers streams with sandy and rocky bottoms and clear water in forests above 600 m (2,000 ft) elevation.

<i>Chelodina canni</i> Species of turtle

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.

<i>Mesoclemmys</i> Genus of turtles

Mesoclemmys is a genus of South American turtles in the family Chelidae.

<i>Chelodina burrungandjii</i> Species of turtle

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.

<i>Chelodina kuchlingi</i> Species of turtle

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.

Chelodina (Chelydera) walloyarrina, the Kimberley long neck turtle or Kimberley snake-necked 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 2017 and 2021 editions of the Turtle Checklist. In a recent paper it waslisted as a subspecies of Chelodina burrungandjii by Kehlmaier et al. 2019, however, that publication did not actually assess the type of the species nore did it analyse it. Hence it should be considered a full species.

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Chelodina gunaleni, also known commonly as Gunalen's long-necked turtle and Gunalen's snake-necked turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is endemic to the lowlands of west-central West Papua, Indonesia, south of the central ranges.

References

  1. As-singkily, M.; Eisemberg, C.; Horne, B.D.; Kuchling, G.; Rhodin, A.G.J. (2019). "Chelodina mccordi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T123814489A123814575. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T123814489A123814575.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. Rhodin AGJ (1994). "Chelid turtles of the Australian archipelago: II. A new species of Chelodina from Roti Island, Indonesia". Breviora. 498: 1–31. S2CID   59271531.
  4. van Dijk, Peter Paul; Iverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Bour, Roger; Rhodin, Anders G.J. (2012). Turtles of the World, 2012 Update: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status. Chelonian Research Monographs. Vol. 5. pp. 000.243–000.328. doi:10.3854/crm.7.checklist.atlas.v8.2017. ISBN   978-1-5323-5026-9.
  5. Georges, Arthur; Thomson, Scott (2010). "Diversity of Australasian freshwater turtles, with an annotated synonymy and keys to species". Zootaxa. 2496: 1. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.2496.1.1 .
  6. 1 2 Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). "Chelodina mccordi", p. 172 in The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5.
  7. Kuchling, Gerald; Rhodin, Anders G. J.; Ibarrondo, Bonggi R.; Trainor, Colin R. (2007). "A New Subspecies of Chelodina mccordi (Testudines: Chelidae) from Eastern Rote Island, Indonesia". Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 6: 213. doi:10.2744/1071-8443(2007)6[213:ANSOTS]2.0.CO;2. S2CID   59580591.
  8. McCord, W. P.; Joseph-Ouni, M. & Hagen, C. (2007). "A New Subspecies of Chelodina mccordi (Testudines: Chelidae) from Eastern Rote Island, Indonesia" (PDF). Reptilia. 52: 58–61.
  9. McCord, W. P.; Joseph-Ouni, M. & Hagen, C. (2007). "A New Species of Chelodina (Testudines: Chelidae) from Eastern Timor Island (East Timor)" (PDF). Reptilia. 52: 53–57.
  10. Kehlmaier, Christian; Zhang, Xiuwen; Georges, Arthur; Campbell, Patrick D.; Thomson, Scott; Fritz, Uwe (2019). "Mitogenomics of historical type specimens of Australasian turtles: Clarification of taxonomic confusion and old mitochondrial introgression". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 5841. Bibcode:2019NatSR...9.5841K. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-42310-x. PMC   6456567 . PMID   30967590. S2CID   104293380.
  11. Shepherd, Chris R.; Ibarrobdo, Bonggi (2005). The Trade of the Roti Island Snake-necked Turtle Chelodina mccordi (PDF) (Report). TRAFFIC Southeast Asia.