Chelodina oblonga GRAY, 1841
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Higher Taxa | Chelidae, Chelodininae, Pleurodira, Testudines (turtles) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Oblong turtle, Narrow-breasted Snake-necked Turtle |
Synonym | Chelodina oblonga GRAY 1841: 434 (nomen dubium) Chelodina colliei GRAY 1856: 267 Macrochelodina oblonga — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985 Chelodina oblonga — KING & BURKE 1989 Macrodiremys oblonga — MCCORD & JOSEPH-OUNI 2007 Chelodina (Macrodiremys) colliei — GEORGES & THOMSON 2010 Chelodina (Macrodiremys) colliei — TTWG 2014 Chelodina colliei — COGGER 2014: 243 Chelodina (Macrodiremys) colliei — TTWG 2017: 193 Chelodina colliei — KEHLMAIER et al. 2019 Chelodina (Macrochelodina) oblonga — SHEA et al. 2020 Chelodina oblonga — TTWG 2021 |
Distribution | Australia (SW Western Australia) Type locality: Swan River, Australia. |
Reproduction | oviparous. |
Types | Lectotype: BMNH 1947.3.5.89, designated by Shea et al. 2020. Paralectotype: OUMNH 02584. The Lectotype designation by Thomson, 2000 (BMNH 1947.3.5.91, formerly 52.11.12.2), is invalid. The latter is from Swan River, WA, presented HMG (original description gives the collector as Dr. A. Collie). |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis (subgenus Macrochelodina): Carapace broadly oblong, flattened dorsally and furrowed along midline; deep reticulated ornamentation of shell often present. Carapace elongated anteriorly and shortened posteriorly giving a narrow cara- pace with negligible posterior flaring; generalised reduction of carapace margins anteriorly and posteriorly; 5–8 (Smales 2019) exposed coffin-shaped neurals present. Anterior bridge strut small, sharply angled posteriorly with minimal suture surface with pleural 1; posterior bridge strut small, does not contact pleurals. Plastron long, narrow, more than twice as long as width measured immediately anterior to bridge, covering only about half of anterior orifice of shell in ventral view. Ilium in contact with posterior half of 8th pleural and pygal. Head and neck length, when fully extended, longer than carapace length; dorsum of neck finely reticulated, lacking obvious tubercles. Atlas (C1) moderately elongated; cervical vertebrae 2–4 greatly elongated (centrum about three times as long as wide). Transverse processes of cervical vertebrae thin and bladelike. Hyolaryngeal assemblage highly modified; elongation of corpus hyoideum along sulcus tracheae; anterior cornubranchiale expanded but not flattened through- out length, elongated, but not extending beyond posterior cornubranchiale; epibranchials cartilaginous throughout life (Shea et al. 2020: 429). |
Comment | Synonymy: the name Chelodina oblonga GRAY 1841: 434 has been considered a nomen dubium by some authors (e.g. Kehlmair et al. 2019) but revalidated by Shea et al. 2020 (who also synonymized Chelodina colliei with Chelodina oblonga). Type species: Chelodina oblonga is the type species of the subgenus Macrochelodina Wells & Wellington 1985: 9. Habitat: freshwater (rivers, swamps) |
Etymology | Presumably named after the Latin oblonga (oblong-shaped), in reference to the shell shape. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) |
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