The Bellinger River turtle (''Myuchelys georgesi)'', or Bellinger River saw-shelled turtle, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Chelidae 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 Amer ...

. The species is of moderate size, with a straight-line carapace length to in females, and in males. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

with a highly restricted distribution to the small coastal drainage of the

Bellinger River Bellinger River, an open and Breakwater (structure), trained mature wind wave, wave dominated, estuary#Lagoon-type or bar-built, barrier estuary, is located in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Belli ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. In the past the species was considered locally abundant. The species' preferred

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is the deeper pools of the clear-water upstream reaches of the river, where water flows continuously in most months over a bedrock basement and a stream bed of boulders, pebbles, and gravel.Cann, John; Spencer, Ricky-J; Welsh, Michael; Georges, Arthur (2015). "''Myuchelys georgesi'' (Cann 1997) – Bellinger River Turtle". ''Chelonian Research Monographs'' 5 (8): 091.1–9. oi:10.3854/crm.5.091.georgesi.v1.2015br>
A captive breeding program has been under way since a 2015 virus outbreak came close to wiping out the entire species. Most remaining individuals are currently housed in quarantine, though a small number have been reintroduced to the original habitat.

Etymology

The Specific name (zoology), specific name, ''georgesi'', is in honour of

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

Arthur Georges.

Geographic range

''M. georgesi'' is found in the

and its tributaries, mid-eastern

, Australia.

Habitat

The preferred

of ''M. georgesi'' is the deeper pools of the clear-water upstream reaches of the river, where the water flows continuously in most months over a bedrock basement and a boulder, pebble and gravel bed.Cann, J. (1998). ''Australian Freshwater Turtles''. Singapore: Beaumont Publishing. 292 pp. . The species takes advantage of the highly oxygenated water with low particulate load by supplementing its oxygen uptake through

cloaca A cloaca ( ), : cloacae ( or ), or vent, is the rear orifice that serves as the only opening for the digestive (rectum), reproductive, and urinary tracts (if present) of many vertebrate animals. All amphibians, reptiles, birds, cartilagin ...

l breathing.

Diet

''M. georgesi'' is essentially an omnivore, with tendencies leaning toward carnivory. A high proportion of its food comes from

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning "the depths". ...

macro-invertebrate communities that are relatively sedentary and live in immediate association with the substratum, but with some terrestrial fruit and aquatic vegetation eaten.

Reproduction

''M. georgesi'' nests from October to December, laying 10-15 oblong white hard-shelled eggs.

Conservation status

Within the Bellinger drainage, a very restricted range, ''M. georgesi'' was formerly widely distributed and locally abundant, with threats to its persistence including habitat modification and loss of native riparian vegetation, associated turbidification and sedimentation, predation by the introduced European fox, and competition with the recently introduced turtle ''

Emydura macquarii ''Emydura macquarii'', also known as the Murray River turtle, Macquarie River turtle, eastern short-necked turtle, eastern short-neck turtle, and southern river turtle, is a species of freshwater turtle Turtles are reptiles of the orde ...

''. In 2015, more than 90% of the adult population was wiped out by a virus, rendering the animal functionally extinct in the wild; a captive breeding program, with limited reintroduction, is working to re-establish a healthy population. Partially as a result of the extreme population decline caused by the virus (with a 97% mortality rate), the species was listed as ''critically endangered'' by the New South Wales

Department of Planning and Environment The New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) was a department of the New South Wales Government, responsible for effective and sustainable planning to support the growth in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It made pl ...

in 2016. As of November 2022, while there is still no cure for the virus, the captive breeding program undertaken by

Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo Sydney is a government-run public zoo located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in the Lower North Shore suburb of Mosman, New South Wales, Mosman, on the shores of Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour. It offers great views of Sydney ...

and

Symbio Wildlife Park Symbio Wildlife Park is a privately owned medium sized zoo located in Helensburgh, New South Wales, south of Sydney and in close proximity to the City of Wollongong. Beginning in 1975 as a native Australian wildlife park, Symbio later expanded it ...

has resulted in the release of 82 juvenile turtles back into the wild.Keeping up with the Bellinger River snapping turtle
Environment NSW, Nov. 16, 2022

Gallery

File:Bellinger River turtle 02 Taronga 2020-03-13.jpg, Front view File:Bellinger River turtle 03 Taronga 2020-03-13.jpg, Side view File:Bellinger River Turtle from behind.png, Back view

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar , from=Q2333446 Myuchelys Turtles of Australia Reptiles described in 1997 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Critically endangered fauna of Australia