Elseya

Taxobox
name = Australian Snapping Turtles


regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
ordo = Testudines
subordo = Pleurodira
familia = Chelidae
genus = "Elseya"
genus_authority =
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision =About one dozen, see text

The Australian Snapping Turtles, "Elseya", are a genus of turtles in the family Chelidae.

The living species can be divided into 2 groups, with "Emydura" being intermediate between them. Consequently, it is anticipated that either the latter will be included here, or that "Elysea" will be split into two genera.Thomson "et al." (2006)]

"latisternum" group:
* "Elseya latisternum"
* Bellinger River Snapping Turtle, "Elseya georgesi"
* Manning River Snapping Turtle, "Elseya purvisi"
* Namoi River Snapping Turtle, "Elseya belli"

"dentata" group:
* "Elseya dentata" - may contain several species
* "Elseya branderhorstii"
* New Guinea Snapping Turtle, "Elseya novaeguineae"
* "Elseya schultzei"
* Irwin's turtle, "Elseya irwini"
* "Elseya lavarackorum"
* Southern Snapping Turtle, "Elseya albagula" - recently split from "E. dentata"
* "Elysea" cf. "dentata" "Johnstone River"

"Elseya nadibajagu" is a prehistoric species known only from fossils. "E. lavarackorum" was initially believed also to be a fossil taxon, but later discovered to be still extant.

Footnotes

References

* (2006): A New Species of Freshwater Turtle in the Genus "Elseya" (Testudines: Chelidae) from Central Coastal Queensland, Australia. "Chelon. Conserv. Biol." 5(1): 74–86. [http://aerg.canberra.edu.au/reprints/2005_Thomson_etal_Burnett_Elseya.pdf PDF fulltext]