Elseya orestiad JOSEPH-OUNI & MCCORD, 2019
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Elseya orestiad?
Elseya orestiad
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| Higher Taxa | Chelidae, Chelodininae, Pleurodira, Testudines (turtles) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Elseya orestiad JOSEPH-OUNI & MCCORD 2019 |
| Distribution | Indonesia (Papua) Type locality: Cyclops Mountains, Papua Province, (New Guinean) Indonesia |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: AMNH R-178719, adult female (Plate I) with a straight carapace length 148.46 mm, collected by F. Yuwono, November, 1994. Paratypes. AMNH R-178720, adult male (Plate I) with a straight carapace length 124.01 mm; AMNH R-178721, adult male (Plate I) with a straight carapace length 107.81 mm. Same collection data as holotype. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis. A relatively small species in the genus Eiseya. characterized by the following combination of features: A reduced adult size that rarely exceeds 148 mm in males and 165 mm in females; a relatively smooth bordered oval carapace with minimal flaring in the hind marginals; minimal to no marginal serrations even in young specimens; a low gradually increasing carapace depth from posterior to anterior; vertebral scules with no median keel; a carapace that varies from unifonnly light to dark olive-brown in background coloration; lack of any definable pattern on the carapace except for random minimal thin black streaks and minor blotches on the scutes, although heavily dotted on the marginals; a head shield (casque) that does not dip sign ificantly, if at all, behind the orbit , with the longitudinal extensions of the head shie ld along the parietal arches narrow and not contacting the dorsal tympanum, being separated by 1-3 rows of small scales; a greenish-gray to greenbrown head shield with dark brown blotches, often elongated; with skin color of the dorsal neck, limbs, tail, and sides of the face being light to dark gray; a dark gray sclera with uniformly bright greenish-yellow iris with no appreciable flecking; and a relatively long, narrow intergular scute. Measurements of non-type series specimens in Appendix of Joseph-Ouni & McCord 2019. Comparisons: see Joseph-Ouni & McCord 2019: 47. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | The species name is a reference to the nymphs that inhabited and protected the mountains and valleys in Ancient Greek mythology (the Orestiades, plural), which emerged to hunt and fish, in reference to the predatory nature of snapping turtles, as well as to this species' indigenous landscape. |
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