Bellinger River snapping turtle
| Bellinger River snapping turtle | |
|---|---|
| File:Bellinger River turtle 01 Taronga 2020-03-13.jpg | |
| Scientific classification Edit this classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Pleurodira |
| Family: | Chelidae |
| Genus: | Myuchelys |
| Species: | M. georgesi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Myuchelys georgesi | |
| Synonyms[3][1][4][5] | |
| |
The Bellinger River turtle (Myuchelys georgesi), or Bellinger River saw-shelled turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is of moderate size, with a straight-line carapace length to 240 mm (9.4 in) in females, and 185 mm (7.3 in) in males. It is endemic to Australia with a highly restricted distribution to the small coastal drainage of the Bellinger River in New South Wales.[3]
In the past the species was considered locally abundant. The species' preferred habitat 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.[6] 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.[7]
Etymology
[edit | edit source]The specific name, georgesi, is in honour of Australian herpetologist Arthur Georges.[8]
Geographic range
[edit | edit source]M. georgesi is found in the Bellinger River and its tributaries, mid-eastern New South Wales, Australia.[3]
Habitat
[edit | edit source]The preferred habitat 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.[9] The species takes advantage of the highly oxygenated water with low particulate load by supplementing its oxygen uptake through cloacal breathing.[10]
Diet
[edit | edit source]M. georgesi is essentially an omnivore, with tendencies leaning toward carnivory.[11] A high proportion of its food comes from benthic 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
[edit | edit source]M. georgesi nests from October to December, laying 10-15 oblong white hard-shelled eggs.[9]
Conservation status
[edit | edit source]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.[12]
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.[7] 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 in 2016.[13] As of November 2022, while there is still no cure for the virus, the captive breeding program undertaken by Taronga Zoo and Symbio Wildlife Park has resulted in the release of 82 juvenile turtles back into the wild.[14]
Gallery
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Front view
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Side view
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Back view
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Cann, John (1997). "Georges Short-neck Turtle, Elseya georgesi sp. nov. Holotype A. M. R31721 Collected by J. Cann 1971". Monitor (Victorian Herpetological Society, Melbourne) 9: 18–23, 31–32. (Elseya georgesi, new species).
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Turtle Taxonomy Working Group [van Dijk, P.P., Iverson, J.B., Rhodin, A.G.J., Shaffer, H.B., and Bour, R.]. 2014. Turtles of the world, 7th edition: annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution with maps, and conservation status. [1] Chelonian Research Monographs 5(7):000.329–479, doi:10.3854/ crm.5.000.checklist.v7.2014.
- ^ 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. [doi:10.3854/crm.5.091.georgesi.v1.2015], [2].
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael. (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).. (Elseya georgesi, p. 99).
- ^ a b Cann, J. (1998). Australian Freshwater Turtles. Singapore: Beaumont Publishing. 292 pp. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
- ^ King, Peter D.; Heatwole, Harold F. (1994). "Partitioning of aquatic oxygen uptake among different respiratory surfaces in a freely-diving pleurodiran turtle". Copeia 1994: 802-806.
- ^ Allanson, Matthew; Georges, Arthur (1999). "Diet of a sibling species pair of freshwater turtles, Elseya purvisi and Elseya georgesi (Testudinata: Chelidae), from eastern Australia". Chelonian Conservation and Biology 3: 473-476.
- ^ Georges, Arthur; Spencer, Ricky-J; Welsh, Michael; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Walsh, Rachael; Zhang, Xiuwen (2011). "Application of the precautionary principle to taxa of uncertain status-the case of the Bellinger River Turtle". Endangered Species Research 14: 127-134.
- ^ Bellinger River snapping turtle (Myuchelys georgesi) - critically endangered species listing, Environment NSW, 22 Apr. 2016
- ^ Keeping up with the Bellinger River snapping turtle, Environment NSW, Nov. 16, 2022
External links
[edit | edit source]- Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
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