Elseya dentata

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Elseya dentata
Captive ''Elseya dentata in Australia.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Pleurodira
Family: Chelidae
Genus: Elseya
Subgenus: Elseya
Species:
E. dentata
Binomial name
Elseya dentata
(Gray, 1863)
Synonyms[1][2]
  • Chelymys dentata Gray 1863:98
  • Chelymys elseyi Gray 1864:132 (nomen nudum)
  • Chelymys elseya Gray 1870:76 (nomen nudum)
  • Elseya intermedia Gray 1872:23

Elseya dentata (Gray, 1863),[3] the northern snapping turtle, is a large aquatic turtle found throughout many rivers in northern Western Australia and the Northern Territory. It is one of three species in the nominate subgenus Elseya.

Etymology

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This species is named for the serrated margin of the shell, mostly only visible in younger animals.

Taxonomy

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During their revision of the New Guinea Elseya a lectotype was set for this species. Further it was placed in a subgenus and as the type species of the genus it is therefore in the nominate subgenus.[2]

References

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  1. ^ 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. In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Pritchard, P.C.H., van Dijk, P.P., Saumure, R.A., Buhlmann, K.A., Iverson, J.B., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs 5(7):000.329–479, doi:10.3854/ crm.5.000.checklist.v7.2014.
  2. ^ a b 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)
  3. ^ Gray, J.E. 1863. On the species of Chelymys from Australia, with the description of a new species. Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 3(12):98-99