Namoi River snapping turtle

The Namoi River snapping turtle (Myuchelys bellii ), also commonly known as Bell's turtle, the Namoi River elseya, or Bell's saw-shelled turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae.[1][2][7] The species is endemic to New South Wales, Australia.

Namoi River snapping turtle
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Pleurodira
Family: Chelidae
Genus: Myuchelys
Species:
M. bellii
Binomial name
Myuchelys bellii
(Gray, 1844)[1][3]
Synonyms[4][5]
  • Phrynops bellii
    Gray, 1844
  • Hydraspis bellii
    — Gray, 1855
  • Elseya bellii
    — Cann, 1998
  • Wollumbinia bellii
    — Wells, 2007
  • Myuchelys bellii
    — Thomson & Georges, 2009[6]

Description

Myuchelys bellii is the largest species in the Myuchelys genus with adult males (up to 227 mm carapace length) smaller than females (up to 300 mm carapace length). They are a uniform light to dark brown color with a broad oval shape. Juveniles display a serrated posterior edge of the carapace this may persist into so adults but begin to smooth. The plastron in adults is a pale yellow with dark dark patches or streaks. Have a prominent shield on dorsal surface of the head extending posterior toward but not touching the tympanum. Forelimbs each have five claws and the hind limbs have four claws. Gray tail which is shorter than half the carapace length. Hatchling have a (mean carapace length 26.7 ± 0.3 mm; mean carapace width 26.8 ± 0.6 mm, n = 16). [8]

Etymology

The specific name, bellii, and some of the common names, are in honor of English zoologist Thomas Bell.[9]

Geographic range

M. bellii occurs in the upper reaches of the Namoi, Gwydir, Macdonald, and Severn Rivers in northern New South Wales, Australia.[2][4][10]

References
  1. Rhodin 2011, p. 000.213.
  2. "Elseya bellii (Bell's turtle, Bell's snapping surtle, Namoi River snapping turtle)". IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  3. Gray, John Edward (1844). Catalogue of the Tortoises, Crocodiles, and Amphisbænians, in the Collection of the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Edward Newman, printer). viii + 80 pp. (Phrynops bellii, new species, pp. 41-42).
  4. Fritz 2007, p. 328.
  5. "Myuchelys bellii ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  6. Thomson, S. & Georges, A. (2009) Myuchelys gen. nov. —a new genus for Elseya latisternum and related forms of Australian freshwater turtle (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae) Zootaxa 2053: 32–42.
  7. "Approved Conservation Advice for Elseya belli (Bell's turtle)" (PDF). 26 March 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  8. Rhodin, Anders; Pritchard, Peter; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Saumure, Raymond; Buhlmann, Kurt; Iverson, John; Mittermeier, Russell, eds. (2015-09-06). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises. Chelonian Research Monographs. 5 (First ed.). Chelonian Research Foundation. doi:10.3854/crm.5.088.bellii.v1.2015. ISBN 978-0-9653540-9-7.
  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 bellii, p. 22).
  10. New South Wales National Parks & Wildlife Service (2003). Threatened Species of the New England Tablelands & NW Slopes of NSW. ISBN 0-7313-6673-5.

Further reading
  • Cann J (1998). Australian Freshwater Turtles. Singapore: Beaumont Publishing. 292 pp. ISBN 978-9810406868.
  • Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter (2007). "Checklist of Chelonians of the World" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 57 (2). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
  • Rhodin, Anders G.J.; van Dijk, Peter Paul; Iverson, John B.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Bour, Roger (2011-12-31). "Turtles of the World, 2011 Update: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution and Conservation Status" (PDF). Chelonian Research Monographs. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-01-22.
  • Thomson S, Georges A (2009). "Myuchelys gen nov. — a new genus for Elseya latisternum and related forms of Australian freshwater turtle (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae)". Zootaxa 2053: 32-42.
  • Wells RW (2007). "Some taxonomic and nomenclatural considerations on the class Reptilia in Australia. A new genus of the family Chelidae from eastern Australia". Australian Biodiversity Record (3): 1-13.
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