''Elseya rhodini'', the southern New Guinea stream turtle, is a recently described aquatic species of
chelid turtle (Austro-South American side necks) found south of the central ranges of New Guinea. It inhabits small streams that flow into the major river drainage's south of the ranges.
Etymology
The species was named in honor of Anders G. J. Rhodin the chairman emeritus of the
IUCN Species Survival Commission
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natur ...
Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG) and founder of the Chelonian Research Foundation (CRF) which publish the journal ''
Chelonian Conservation and Biology
''Chelonian Conservation and Biology: International Journal of Turtle and Tortoise Research'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research on freshwater turtles, marine turtles, and tortoises ( Order Testudines). It was established in 1 ...
'' he had in the past also been involved in research in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
having described the species ''
Chelodina parkeri
Parker's snake-necked turtle (''Chelodina parkeri'') is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae.
Taxonomy and etymology
The specific name ''parkeri'', is in honor of Australian naturalist Fred Parker (born 1941).Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Mich ...
'' and ''
Chelodina pritchardi
Pritchard's snake-necked turtle (''Chelodina pritchardi'') is a species of turtles in the family Chelidae. The species is endemic to a restricted area of Central Province, Papua New Guinea.Turtle Taxonomy Working Group hodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J. ...
''.
Taxonomy
Only recently separated from the western New Guinea stream turtle, ''
Elseya novaeguineae
The Western New Guinea stream turtle or New Guinea snapping turtle (''Elseya novaeguineae'') is a species of freshwater turtle in the Chelidae family. It is found in the Bird's Head Peninsula and the Bomberai Peninsula west of Cenderawasih Bay, a ...
'', it was demonstrated that the ''
Elseya
''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 ...
'' of New Guinea were long term inhabitants of the island and had been subject to the major
vicariance
Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...
events from the formation of the Central Ranges.
[Georges, A., Zhang, X., Unmack, P., Reid, B.N., Le, M. & McCord, W.P. (2014) Contemporary genetic structure of an endemic freshwater turtle reflects Miocene orogenesis of New Guinea. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 111, 192–208]
DOI
/ref> The degree of divergence was consistent between the molecular and morphological data and as such the species ''Elseya schultzei
''Elseya schultzei'', commonly known as Schultze's snapping turtle, is a species of chelid turtle endemic to northern New Guinea.Turtle Taxonomy Working Group hodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., Bour, R. Fritz, U., Georges, A., Shaffer, H.B., and van ...
'' was resurrected and this new species was also described.[Thomson, S., White, A. & Georges, A. (1997) Re-evaluation of ''Emydura lavarackorum'': Identification of a living fossil. ''Memoirs of the Queensland Museum'', 42, 327–336.] names were formally applied to these clades. ''Elseya rhodini'' was placed in a new subgenus
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
''Hanwarachelys'' along with ''Elseya novaeguineae
The Western New Guinea stream turtle or New Guinea snapping turtle (''Elseya novaeguineae'') is a species of freshwater turtle in the Chelidae family. It is found in the Bird's Head Peninsula and the Bomberai Peninsula west of Cenderawasih Bay, a ...
'' and ''Elseya schultzei
''Elseya schultzei'', commonly known as Schultze's snapping turtle, is a species of chelid turtle endemic to northern New Guinea.Turtle Taxonomy Working Group hodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., Bour, R. Fritz, U., Georges, A., Shaffer, H.B., and van ...
''.
See also
* Yolarnie Amepou
Yolarnie Amepou (born 1988) is a zoologist and conservationist from Papua New Guinea. She is known for her work to protect the Papuan softshell turtle ('' Carettochelys insculpta'') in Kikori. In 2017 she was a Youth Champion for the Sustainabl ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q20857548
Elseya (Hanwarachelys)
Reptiles described in 2015
Taxa named by Scott A. Thomson
Reptiles of Papua New Guinea
Endemic fauna of New Guinea
Turtles of New Guinea