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Gulf snapping turtle

gulf snapping turtle (Elseya lavarackorum)
NE Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory
Photo © Gina Barnett
Elseya lavarackorum - (White & Archer, 1994)
Pronunciation  ELL-see-ah   la-vor-ACK-OR-um
Etymology  Elseya: possibly after someone called Elsey.1
lavarackorum: after Jim and Sue Lavarack, discoverers of the fossil from which this species was described.
Other names  Lavarack's turtle

Emydura lavarackorum 
 
Carapace length
Species avg: 32 cm
Reproduction
Oviparous
Clutch size
Description Distribution Natural history Conservation Further information More photos

Natural history

A Living Fossil. Originally described from Pleistocene fossil material from Riversleigh in Queensland.

Memoirs of the Queensland Museum Volume: 42 Part: 1 Year: 1997
Re-evaluation of Emydura lavarackorum: Identification of a living fossil
Author(s): Thomson, S.A., White, A. & Georges, A.
Pages: 327-335

Post-cranial osteological characters can be used to diagnose Australian short-necked chelid turtles to genus. Morphological examination of the Pleistocene fossil Emydura lavarackorum, from Riversleigh, shows that it is aligned with the genus Elseya not Emydura and should be referred to as Elseya lavarackorum (White & Archer, 1994). Furthermore, the fossil specimen is not distinguishable from an undescribed extant form of Elseya from the Nicholson drainage, with which it shares one unique feature so this name should apply also to this extant form, identified to date only from electrophoretic data. It is Australia's first living fossil turtle, an extant population of a Pleistocene taxon.

Diet

Notes and disclaimer
This information may not be complete. While all care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the information in this page, primary sources should always be consulted for definitive information. Animals have an endearing habit of disobeying the rules, so the information on this page should be interpreted with a degree of flexibility.
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This page may be cited as:
  Elseya lavarackorum at the Australian Reptile Online Database. Last updated 2015-10-20 15:42:08.
  Retrieved from http://arod.com.au/arod/?species=Elseya+lavarackorum on the 30th of March, 2024.
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