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Chelodina longicollis (SHAW, 1794)

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Higher TaxaChelidae, Chelodininae, Pleurodira, Testudines (turtles)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Common Snake-necked Turtle
G: Glattrücken-Schlangenhalsschildkröte 
SynonymTestudo longicollis SHAW 1794: 19
Emys longicollis
Chelodina longicollis — GRAY 1831
Chelodina novae-hollandiae DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1835: 443 (nomen subst.)
Chelodina longicollis — BELL 1836-1842
Chelodina sulcifera GRAY 1855
Chelodina sulcata GRAY 1856: 267
Chelodina longicollis — GRAY 1857: 486
Chelodina longicollis — BOULENGER 1889
Chelodina longicollis — SIEBENROCK 1905
Chelodina longicollis — ERNST & BARBOUR 1989: 35
Chelodina longicollis — COGGER 2000: 190
Chelodina longicollis — GEORGES & THOMSON 2010
Chelodina (Chelodina) longicollis — TTWG 2014
Chelodina (Chelodina) longicollis — SHEA et al. 2020
Chelodina longicollis — TTWG 2021 
DistributionAustralia (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria)

Type locality: New Holland (= Australia), by implication.  
Reproductionoviparous. FRITZ & BAUR (1995) report vital hybrids between Emydura subglobosa and Chelodina longicollis. 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1947.3.5.86. Holotype presumed to be that specimen on which Shaw based a subsequent description of this species (Shaw 1802), fide Cogger, 1983: 61 and King et al. 1989, but P. Campbell / BMNH catalogue says the specimen is the type of [sulcifera] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Medium to large freshwater turtles with exceptionally long necks; head and neck, when extended, typically of similar length to, or longer than, the carapace; gular scutes meet in front of intergular scute, or if not, barely separated by intergular (common variant in C. burrungandjii); skull anteriorly elongated; frontal bones fused into a single unit; parietal arch absent; atlas elements (intercentrum, centrum, lamina) fused into a single unit; four claws on front and back feet (from Shea et a. 2020).


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CommentSynonymy mostly after Cogger 1983 and GEORGES & THOMSON 2010.

Type species: Testudo longicollis SHAW 1794 is the type species of the genus Chelodina FITZINGER 1826.

Habitat: freshwater (rivers, swamps)

Genetics: Chelodina expansa has no known mitochondria of it's own, having that of C. longicollis or C. canni I depending on locality and sympatry. These species are in different subgenera as an aside. C. canni and C. longicollis hybridize in one river at an overlap zone but no where else. (Scott Thompson, on Taxacom, 28 May 2024) 
EtymologyNamed after Latin longus = long and collum = neck, for its long neck.

The genus was named after Greek khelys = tortoise; -dina is derived from Greek deinos = terrible, hence 'a terrible tortoise'; this is a misleading name as they are not usually vicious 9Gotch 1986) 
References
  • Artner, H. G. 1994. Nomenklatur aktuell: Gattung Chelodina. Emys 1 (2): 11
  • Artner, H. G. 1999. Nomenklatur aktuell: Gattung Chelodina. Emys 6 (1): 18–19
  • Bell, T. 1836. A monograph of the Testudinata. London, 1836-1842 (sometimes given as 1832-1836, not date given, unnumbered pages) - get paper here
  • 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
  • Cann, John 1998. Australian Freshwater Turtles. Beaumont Publishing, Singapore: 292 pp.
  • 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.
  • Duméril, A.M.C., and G. Bibron. 1835. Erpétologie Générale ou Histoire Naturelle Complète des Reptiles, Vol. 2. Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret, Paris, iv + 680 p. - get paper here
  • Eisner, T., T.H. Jones, J. Meinwald & J.M. Legler 1978. Chemical Composition of the Odorous Secretion of the Australian Turtle, Chelodina longicollis Copeia 1978 (4): 714-715. - get paper here
  • Ernst,C.H. and Barbour,R.W. 1989. Turtles of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. - London
  • Ezaz, Tariq; Nicole Valenzuela, Frank Grützner, Ikuo Miura, Arthur Georges, Russell L. Burke & Jennifer A. Marshall Graves 2006. An XX/XY sex microchromosome system in a freshwater turtle, Chelodina longicollis (Testudines: Chelidae) with genetic sex determination. Chromosome Research 14:139–150 - get paper here
  • Ferronato, Bruno O.; Marques, Thiago S.; Lara, Neliton R.F.; Martinelli, Luiz A.; Verdade, Luciano M.; Camargo, Plinio B.; Roe, John H.; Georges, Arthur 2016. Isotopic niche in the eastern long-necked turtle, Chelodina longicollis (Testudines: Chelidae), along a natural-urban gradient in southeastern Australia. The Herpetological Journal 26 (4): 297-304 - get paper here
  • Fritz, U. & Baur, M. 1995. Schildkröten-Hybriden. 1. Halswender-Schildkröten (Pleurodira). Herpetofauna 17 (94): 28-34 - get paper here
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  • Georges, A.; J. Birrell, K. M. Saint, W. McCord und S. C. Donnellan 1998. A phylogeny for side-necked turtles (Chelonia: Pleurodira) based on mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequence variation. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 67: 213-246 [1999] - get paper here
  • Goode, J. 1967. Freshwater tortoises of Australia and New Guinea. Lansdowne Press, Melbourne 154 pp.
  • Gotch, A. F. 1986. Reptiles - Their Latin Names Explained. Blndford Press, 176 pp.
  • Graham, T., A. Georges & N. McElhinney 1996. Terrestrial Orientation by the Eastern Long-necked Turtle, Chelodina longicollis, from Australia Journal of Herpetology 30 (4): 467-477. - get paper here
  • Gray, J.E. 1856. On some new species freshwater tortoises from North America, Ceylon and Australia, in the collection of the British Museum. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1855: 197-202 - get paper here
  • Gray,J.E. 1856. On some new species freshwater tortoises from North America, Ceylon and Australia. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (2) 18: 263-268 - get paper here
  • Gray,J.E. 1856. Catalogue of Shield Reptiles in the Collection of the British Museum. Part I. Testudinata (Tortoises). British Museum, London, 79 pp. [1855] - get paper here
  • Gray,J.E. 1857. Description of a new species of Chelodina from Australia. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (2) 19: 485-486 - get paper here
  • Hennig, A.S. 2004. Haltung von Wasserschildkröten. Natur und Tier Verlag (Münster), 125 pp. - get paper here
  • Joyce, Walter G.; James F. Parham , Tyler R. Lyson , Rachel C. M. Warnock and Philip C. J. Donoghue 2013. A Divergence Dating Analysis of Turtles Using Fossil Calibrations: An Example of Best Practices. Journal of Paleontology, 87(4):612-634 - get paper here
  • Kaminski, Thmas H. and Andreas S. Hennig. 2013. Brief note on the find of a Common Snake-necked Turtle, Chelodina longicollis (Shaw, 1794) in the Australian state of New South Wales. Radiata 22 (4): 31-32
  • Kay, G.M.; D. Michael; M. Crane; S. Okada; C. MacGregor; D. Florance; D. Trengove; L. McBurney; D. Blair; D.B. Lindenmayer. 2013. A list of reptiles and amphibians from Box Gum Grassy Woodlands in south-eastern Australia. Check List 9 (3):476-481 - get paper here
  • Kennett, R.M. & A. Georges 1990. Habitat Utilization and its Relationship to Growth and Reproduction of the Eastern Long-Necked Turtle, Chelodina longicollis (Testudinata: Chelidae) from Australia Herpetologica 46 (1): 22-33. - get paper here
  • Kennett, Rod; John Roe, Kate hodges, and aRthuR geoRges 2009. Chelodina longicollis (Shaw 1794) – Eastern Long-Necked Turtle, Common Long-Necked Turtle, Common Snake-Necked Turtle. Chelonian Research Monographs (ISSN 1088-7105) No. 5: 31.1-31.8 - get paper here
  • McCord, W. P. & S. A. Thomson 2002. A new species of Chelodina (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae) from Northern Australia. Journal of Herpetology 36 (2): 255-267. - get paper here
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  • Mertens, R. 1972. Eine oft verkannte Unterart der australischen Schlangenhalsschildkröte Chelodina longicollis. Salamandra 8 (1): 27-31 - get paper here
  • Michael, D.R.; D.B. Lindenmayer; M. Crane; C. MacGregor; R. Montague-Drake; L. McBurney. 2011. Reptilia, Murray catchment, New South Wales, southeastern Australia. Check List 7 (1):25-29 - get paper here
  • Mo, Matthew 2015. Herpetofaunal community of the constructed Lime Kiln Bay Wetland, south Sydney, New South Wales. Victorian Naturalist 132 (3): 64-72 - get paper here
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  • Petrov, K., Sutcliffe, S., Truscott, H., Kutay, C., Eisemberg, C. C., Spencer, R. J., ... & Georges, A. 2023. Turtles in trouble. Conservation ecology and priorities for Australian freshwater turtles. Austral Ecology - get paper here
  • Rautert, H. 1982. Bemerkenswerte Häutungen bei Chelodina longicollis SHAW als Indizien gegen die Gültigkeit des Taxon Chelodina l. sulcifera GRAY. Herpetofauna 4 (16): 6-10 - get paper here
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  • SHEA, GLENN; SCOTT THOMSON & ARTHUR GEORGES 2020. The identity of Chelodina oblonga Gray 1841 (Testudines: Chelidae) reassessed. Zootaxa 4779 (3): 419–437 - get paper here
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  • ZUG, G.R. 2013. Reptiles and Amphibians of the Pacific Islands. University of California Press, Berkeley, 306 pp. - get paper here
 
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