''Elseya'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of large side-necked

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 ...

s, commonly known as Australian snapping turtles, 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 ...

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), ...

in the genus ''Elseya'' are found in river systems in northern and northeastern Australia and throughout the river systems of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

.Thomson S, Georges A, Limpus C (2006). "A New Species of Freshwater Turtle in the Genus ''Elseya'' (Testudines: Chelidae) from Central Coastal Queensland, Australia". '' Chelon. Conserv. Biol.'' 5 (1): 74–86
PDF fulltext
They are identified by the presence of alveolar ridges on the triturating surfaces of the mouth and the presence of a complex bridge strut.Thomson S, White A, Georges A (1997). "Re-Evaluation of ''Emydura lavarackorum'': Identification of a Living Fossil". ''Memoirs of the Queensland Museum'' 42 (1): 327–336. The Australian snapping turtles are largely

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat n ...

, with specialized mouth structures for eating fruits. However, they will eat animal products if opportunity arises. The various species can be found in large numbers where they are still abundant, e.g.,

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

of Australia. However, a number of the populations have become increasingly rare, and some are now listed as endangered.

Systematics

Etymology

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a z ...

created the generic name, ''Elseya'', in 1867 in honour of Dr. Joseph Ravenscroft Elsey, a

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

on the Gregory Expedition that traversed northern Australia from the Victoria River to

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

in 1855–1856.

List of species

The genus was originally described by Gray in 1867 with the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

being set as ''Elseya dentata''. The fossil genus ''Pelocomastes'' was later synonymised with this genus. Following the recent revisions of this genus, the ''latisternum'' group has been moved to the new genus '' Myuchelys''. The remaining species of this genus have additionally been separated into three subgenera, ''Elseya'', ''Pelocomastes'', and ''Hanwarachelys'', and the species redistributed among them.Thomson S, Amepou Y, Anamiato J, Georges A (2015). "A new species and subgenus of ''Elseya'' (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae) from New Guinea". ''Zootaxa'' 4006 (1): 59–82
Preview (PDF)
/ref>

Extinct species

There are two identified extinct species of Elseya. '' Elseya nadibajagu'' and '' Elseya uberrima'' De Vis CW (1897). "The extinct freshwater turtles of Queensland". ''Annals of the Queensland Museum'' 3: 3-7. are prehistoric species known only from

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

s. ''E. lavarackorum'' was initially believed also to be a fossil taxon, but later discovered to be still

extant Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Exta ...

. ''Elseya nadibajagu'' is a

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58species 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), ...

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

Australian snapping turtle, described from the Bluff Downs region of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

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 ...

.; whereas ''Elseya uberrima'' is a

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

species described from the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generally ...

region of

.Thomson SA (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. (Brisbane).

Notes

References

External links and further reading

Gondwanan Turtle Site
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2708967 Turtle genera Taxa named by John Edward Gray Taxonomy articles created by Polbot