Chelodina

''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.

''Chelodina'' is an ancient group of chelid turtles native to Australia, New Guinea, the Indonesian Rote Island, and East Timor. The turtles within this subgenus are small to medium-sized with oval shaped carapace. They are side-necked turtles, meaning they tuck their head partially around the side of their body when threatened instead of directly backwards.

''Chelydera'' represents those species that have often been termed the ''Chelodina'' B group or thick necked snake neck turtles. The subgenus was described in 2020 by Thomson & Georges (in Shea et al. 2020). They are a side-neck turtle of the family Chelidae with extremely long necks and long flattened heads. They are specialist fish eaters using a strike and gape mode of feeding. They are medium to large species with the largest ''Chelodina (Chelydera) expansa'' reaching shell lengths of some .Macrochelodina expansa (Grey, 1856) - Broad-Shelled Turtle
The first fossils (''C. (Chelydera) alanrixi'') are known from Queensland from the Eocene period (Lapparent de Broin, F. de, & Molnar, R. E., 2001).

''Macrochelodina'' (Wells & Wellington, 1985) is a monotypic subgenus of the ''Chelodina''. Its sole member is the enigmatic ''Chelodina'' (''Macrochelodina'') ''oblonga'' from Western Australia.

Taxonomy

Current taxonomy follows that of Georges & Thomson, 2010 with updates from van Dijk et al. 2014 and Shea et al. 2020.

Synonymous names for the ''Chelodina'' Fitzinger 1826 genus include: ''Hydraspis'' Bell 1828, ''Chelyodina'' Agassiz 1846:79 (nomen novum), ''Hesperochelodina'' Wells and Wellington 1985 (nomen nudum).

The type species for the ''Chelodina'' subgenus is ''Chelodina longicollis'' (Shaw, 1794). The type species for the ''Chelydera'' subgenus is ''Chelodina parkeri'' Rhodin and Mittermeier 1976. The type species for ''Macrochelodina'' is '' Chelodina oblonga'' Gray 1841.

List of species

Extinct species

There are three identified extinct species of Chelodina:
*'' Chelodina alanrixi'' de Broin and Molnar, 2001 is a species of snake-necked fossil turtle which was described in 2001 using material gathered in Redbank Plains, Queensland, Australia. It is a member of the Chelidae Pleurodira. The fossil has been dated to the Eocene Epoch.
*''Chelodina insculpta'' de Vis, 1897de Vis, C.W. (1897). The extinct freshwater turtles of Queensland. ''Annals of the Queensland Museum'' 3: 3-7. is an extinct species of snake-necked turtle that was described in 1897 from material gathered in Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia, restricted.Thomson, S. A. 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. It is a member of the Chelidae; Pleurodira. The fossil has been dated as Pliocene.
*''Chelodina murrayi'' Yates, 2013 is an extinct species of snake-necked turtle from the Waite Formation on the Alcoota Scientific Reserve, north-east of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. The species would appear to belong to the ''Chelodina novaeguineae'' group of species within the subgenus ''Chelodina''.

Notes

References

External links

Overview of the genus ''Chelodina'' with original literature

{{Taxonbar , from=Q532358

Turtles of Australia
Turtle genera
Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger