Elseya auramemoria JOSEPH-OUNI & MCCORD & DWYER, 2022
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Elseya auramemoria?
Elseya auramemoria
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| Higher Taxa | Chelidae, Chelodininae, Pleurodira, Testudines (turtles) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Guadalcanal snapping turtle |
| Synonym | Elseya auramemoria JOSEPH-OUNI & MCCORD & DWYER 2022 |
| Distribution | Solomon Islands Type locality: middle-lower reaches of the eastern bank of the Mbonehe River, northern Guadalcanal, Guadalcanal District, Solomon Islands. |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: YPM HERR.022304, an adult male specimen (Plates 2, 4) with a straight carapace length of 167.69 mm, collected May, 1995, by a native Solomon Islander in conjunction with native herpetofauna collector G. Fafale. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A member of the genus Elseya, displaying all characters as defined for the new subgenus Solomonemys described above, that is further characterized by the following combination of features: two pairs of chin barbels present; carapace uniformly orange-tinged olive brown in coloration with all carapace scutes free of any defined markings or defined pattern; the narrow medial keel is yellowish-brown, extending from posterior V1 to posterior V4; M2 twice the size of M1, and M1/M2 sulcus bowed concavely interiorly; V1-P1 sulcus bowed convexly exteriorly; M3-M7 with dorsally-curled exterior marginal edges; an olive-greenish brown face, including the tympanum; seven enlarged scales present on the antebrachium (above the carpals); head shield (casque) that does not dip behind the eye post-orbitally and whose lateral extensions over the parietal arch broadly reach the dorso-posterior rim of the tympanum; a light to mid-brown head-shield with a posteriorly-facing dark brown trident marking that runs from behind the orbits and the center to reach the end of the head shield and the extensions; a dusky yellowish-brown inter-orbital band, and a dark creamy-yellow plastron free of darker markings or pattern. (Joseph-Ouni et al. 2022) |
| Comment | This is a provisionally accepted species. Pending approval by the TTWG which provides our master list of turtles. |
| Etymology | The species name is a combination of the Ancient Greek αύρα (“air, atmosphere”) and the Ancient Latin memoria (“memory, remembrance”) named as a dual reference: one for the alleged native belief that freshwater turtles represent the spiritual incarnation of deceased ancestors, and secondly, in awareness of the thousands of human lives lost during World War Two in the cataclysmic Solomons campaign. |
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