Bellinger River snapping turtle

The Bellinger River turtle (Myuchelys georgesi) 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.[7] 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.[8]

Bellinger River snapping turtle
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Pleurodira
Family: Chelidae
Genus: Myuchelys
Species:
M. georgesi
Binomial name
Myuchelys georgesi
(Cann, 1997)[2]
Synonyms[3][4][5][6]
  • Elseya sp. 3
    IUCN Red List of 1996
  • Elseya georgesi
    Cann, 1997
  • Elseya sp. 3
    — IUCN Red List of 2000
  • Elseya latisternum georgesi
    — Artner, 2008
  • Myuchelys georgesi
    — S. Thomson & Georges, 2009

Etymology

The specific name, georgesi, is in honour of Australian herpetologist Arthur Georges.[9]

Geographic range

M. georgesi is found in the Bellinger River and its tributaries, mid-eastern New South Wales, Australia.[3]

Habitat

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.[10] The species takes advantage of the highly oxygenated water with low particulate load by supplementing its oxygen uptake through cloacal breathing.[11]

Diet

M. georgesi is essentially an omnivore, with tendencies leaning toward carnivory.[12] 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

M. georgesi nests from October to December, laying 10-15 oblong white hard-shelled eggs.[10]

Conservation status

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.[13] 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.[8]

Front view.
Side view.

References
  1. Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Iverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Roger, Bour (2011-12-31). "Turtles of the world, 2011 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status" (PDF). Chelonian Research Monographs. 6: 000.213. doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v4.2011. ISBN 978-0965354097. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-31.
  2. 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).
  3. "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology: 328–329. ISSN 1864-5755. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-01. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  4. "Elseya georgesi (Bellinger River Snapping Turtle, Georges' (Snapping) Turtle)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  5. "Myuchelys georgesi ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  6. 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. Chelonian Research Monographs 5(7):000.329–479, doi:10.3854/ crm.5.000.checklist.v7.2014.
  7. 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], .
  8. "Critically endangered snapping turtle program breeds hope for survival". The Guardian. 11 March 2020.
  9. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael. (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Elseya georgesi, p. 99).
  10. Cann, J. (1998). Australian Freshwater Turtles. Singapore: Beaumont Publishing. 292 pp. ISBN 978-9810406868.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
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