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Pseudemydura umbrina SIEBENROCK, 1901

IUCN Red List - Pseudemydura umbrina - Critically Endangered, CR
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Higher TaxaChelidae, Pseudemydurinae, Pleurodira, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Western Swamp Turtle
G: Falsche Spitzkopfschildkröte 
SynonymPseudemydura umbrina SIEBENROCK 1901: 249
Pseudemydura umbrina — SIEBENROCK 1907: 294
Emydura inspectata GLAUERT 1954
Pseudemydura umbrina — GAFFNEY 1977
Pseudemydura umbrina — COGGER 2000: 200
Pseudemydura umbrina — GEORGES & THOMSON 2010
Pseudemydura umbrina — TTWG 2021 
DistributionSW Australia (southward from Bullsbrook about 25 km to the marshy areas in the suburbs of Perth)

Type locality: Australia  
Reproductionoviparous. 
TypesHolotype: NMW 89 (8450) =1296 (NHMW)
Holotype: WAM R11092 [Emydura inspectata] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (1871 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentDistribution: Map in MACCORD et al. (2003).

Conservation: This is one of the most endangered turtle species according to a 2003 assessment by the IUCN.

Type species: Pseudemydura umbrina SIEBENROCK 1901: 249 is the type species of the genus Pseudemydura SIEBENROCK 1901. Pseudemydura is the type genus of the subfamily Pseudemydurinae Gaffney 1977:24.

Habitat: freshwater (swamps)

Karotype: diploid number of 50 (22 macrochromosomes, 28 microchromosomes), macrochromosomes 6 and 10 are acrocentric and pair 10 has a secondary constriction adjacent to the centromere (Bull and Legler 1980)

Abundance: Rare. This is one of the species called 'lost' and 'rediscovered' by Lindken et al. 2024. 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Latin umbra (shadow) plus the feminine diminutive suffix -ina, in reference to the small size and dark coloration of this species. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) 
References
  • Bonin, F., Devaux, B. & Dupré, A. 2006. Turtles of the World. English translation by P.C.H. Pritchard. Johns Hopkins University Press, 416 pp.
  • Bour, R. 2008. Global diversity of turtles (Chelonii; Reptilia) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia 595:593–598 - get paper here
  • Cogger, H. G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 7th ed. CSIRO Publishing, xxx + 1033 pp. - get paper here
  • Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp.
  • Ellis, Ryan J. and Arthur Georges 2015. An annotated type catalogue of the turtles (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae) in the collection of the Western Australian Museum. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 30: 52-60, DOI: 10.18195/issn.0312-3162.30(1).2015.052-060 - get paper here
  • Gaffney, Eugene S. 1977. The side-necked turtle family Chelidae: a theory of relationships using shared derived characters. American Museum Novitates (2620): 1-28 - get paper here
  • Gemel, R.; G. Gassner & S. Schweiger 2019. Katalog der Typen der Herpetologischen Sammlung des Naturhistorischen Museums Wien – 2018. Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien, B 121: 33–248
  • Georges, A. & Thomson, S. 2010. Diversity of Australasian freshwater turtles, with an annotated synonymy and keys to species. Zootaxa 2496: 1–37 - get paper here
  • Glauert, L. 1954. Herpetological Miscellanea. IV. A new swamp tortoise from the Swan River district. Western Australian Naturalist 4 (6): 125-127 - get paper here
  • King, J.M., G. Kuchling & S.D. Bradshaw 1998. Thermal Environment, behavior, and body condition of wild Pseudemydura umbrina (Testudines: Chelidae) during late winter and early spring Herpetologica 54 (1): 103-112. - get paper here
  • Kuchling, G. 1993. Nesting of Pseudemydura umbrina (Testudines: Chelidae): The Other Way Round Herpetologica 49 (4): 479-487. - get paper here
  • Kuchling, Gerald; Horn, Hans-Georg 1995. Die falsche Spitzkopfschildkröte. TI Magazin 1995 (122): 43-47
  • Lindken T.; Anderson, C. V., Ariano-Sánchez, D., Barki, G., Biggs, C., Bowles, P., Chaitanya, R., Cronin, D. T., Jähnig, S. C., Jeschke, J. M., Kennerley, R. J., Lacher, T. E. Jr., Luedtke, J. A., Liu, C., Long, B., Mallon, D., Martin, G. M., Meiri, 2024. What factors influence the rediscovery of lost tetrapod species? Global Change Biology, 30: 1-18 - get paper here
  • McCord, W.P.; Joseph-Ouni, M. & Cann, J. 2003. Chelonian Illustrations #7. Short-neck, Western Swamp, and Pig-Nose Turtles from Australia and New Guinea. Reptilia (GB) (27): 64-68 - get paper here
  • Siebenrock, F. 1907. Beschreibung und Abbildung von Pseudemydura umbrina Siebenr. und über ihre systematische Stellung in der Familie Chelydidae. Akad. Anz. Wien 44: 294 - get paper here
  • Siebenrock,F. 1901. Beschreibung einer neuen Schildkrötengattung aus der Familie Chelydidae von Australien: Pseudemydura. Sitzungsber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, math. nat. Kl. 1901: 248-250 - get paper here
  • TTWG; Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., Bour, R., Fritz, U., Georges, A., Shaffer, H.B., and van Dijk, P.P. 2021. Turtles of the World: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (9th Ed.). In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., van Dijk, P.P., Stanford, C.B., Goode, E.V., Buhlmann, K.A., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Chelonian Research Monographs 8:1–472. doi:10.3854/crm.8.checklist.atlas.v9.2021. - get paper here
  • White A W; Archer M 1994. Emydura lavarackorum, a new Pleistocene turtle (Pleurodira: Chelidae) from fluviatile deposits at Riversleigh, northwestern Queensland. Rec. South Austral. Mus. 27 (2): 159-167 - get paper here
  • Williams,E. E. 1958. Rediscovery of the Australian chelid genus Pseudemydura SIEBENROCK (Chelidae, Testudines). Breviora (84): 1-12 - get paper here
  • Wilson, D.S. et al. 2003. Estimating age of turtles from growth rings: a critical evaluation of the technique. Herpetologica 59 (2): 178-194 - get paper here
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
  • Zhang, Xiuwen; Peter J. Unmack, Gerald Kuchling, Yinan Wang, Arthur Georges 2017. Resolution of the enigmatic phylogenetic relationship of the critically endangered Western Swamp Tortoise Pseudemydura umbrina (Pleurodira: Chelidae) using a complete mitochondrial genome. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 115: 58-61 - get paper here
  • Zwinenberg, A.J. 1975. The Western Swamp Tortoise (Pseudemydura umbrina), one of Australia's Rarest Reptiles Bull. Maryland Herpetol. Soc., 11(1): 14-20. - get paper here
 
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