Mary River turtle
species of reptile
The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is an endangered species of short-necked turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is endemic to the Mary River in south-east Queensland, Australia. Although this turtle was known to inhabit the Mary River for nearly 30 years, it was not until 1994 that it was recognised as a new species. There has been a dramatic decrease in its population due to low reproduction rates and an increase of depredation on nests.
Taxonomy and common names
The Mary River turtle was first formally described in 1994. The Mary River turtle is also commonly called the green-haired turtle and the punk turtle, due to the algae that grows on its head or shell. Elusor is a monotypic genus representing a very old lineage of turtles that has all but disappeared from the evolutionary history of Australia.
Description
Unusually for turtles, males are larger than females in this species. Male Mary River turtles are one of Australia's largest turtles. Specimens in excess of 50 cm (20 in) straight carapace length have been recorded.
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This entry incorporates text from “Mary River turtle” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.