The Namoi River snapping turtle (''Myuchelys bellii''), also commonly known as Bell's turtle, the Namoi River elseya, or Bell's 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), ...
of
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
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 ...
to
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 ...
,
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 ...
.
Description
''Myuchelys bellii'' is the largest species in the ''Myuchelys'' genus with adult males (up to 227 mm carapace length) smaller than females (up to 300 mm carapace length). They are a uniform light to dark brown color with a broad oval shape. Juveniles display a serrated posterior edge of the carapace this may persist into so adults but begin to smooth. The plastron in adults is a pale yellow with dark dark patches or streaks. Have a prominent shield on dorsal surface of the head extending posterior toward but not touching the tympanum. Forelimbs each have five claws and the hind limbs have four claws. Gray tail which is shorter than half the carapace length. Hatchling have a (mean carapace length 26.7 ± 0.3 mm; mean carapace width 26.8 ± 0.6 mm, n = 16).
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''bellii'', and some of the common names, are in honor of
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
zoologist
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...
Thomas Bell.
Geographic range
''M. bellii'' occurs in the upper reaches of the
Namoi,
Gwydir,
,
and
Severn
The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
rivers in northern New South Wales, Australia.
[New South Wales National Parks & Wildlife Service (2003). ''Threatened Species of the New England Tablelands & NW Slopes of NSW''. .] A disjunct population occurs in
Bald Rock Creek, in southeast
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 ...
.
References
Further reading
*Cann J (1998). ''Australian Freshwater Turtles''. Singapore: Beaumont Publishing. 292 pp. .
*
*
*Thomson S, Georges A (2009). "''Myuchelys gen nov.'' — a new genus for ''Elseya latisternum'' and related forms of Australian freshwater turtle (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae)". ''Zootaxa'' 2053: 32–42.
*Wells RW (2007). "Some taxonomic and nomenclatural considerations on the class Reptilia in Australia. A new genus of the family Chelidae from eastern Australia". ''Australian Biodiversity Record'' (3): 1-13.
External links
Bell's turtlefrom the
Government of Queensland
The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the state Legislative Assembly, with the governo ...
{{Taxonbar, from=Q572928
Turtles of Australia
Endangered fauna of Australia
Myuchelys
Endemic fauna of Australia
Reptiles described in 1844
Taxa named by John Edward Gray
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot