Elusor macrurus CANN & LEGLER, 1994
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Elusor macrurus?
Elusor macrurus
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| Higher Taxa | Chelidae, Chelodininae, Pleurodira, Testudines (turtles) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Mary River Turtle |
| Synonym | Elusor macrurus CANN & LEGLER 1994 Elusor macrurus — COGGER 2000: 739 Elusor macrurus — GEORGES & THOMSON 2010 Elusor macrurus — TTWG 2021 |
| Distribution | Australia (SE Queensland) Type locality: Mary River, 45.5 km Sand 21.0 km W Maryborough, Queensland, Australia, elevation approximately 30 m (25°58'S, 152°30'E). |
| Reproduction | oviparous. |
| Types | Holotype: QM J51275 |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (Genus). A short-necked Australian chelid turtle oflarge adult size, with a low streamlined shell, basking habits, and a southern temperate breeding pattern. Distinguished from all other Australian chelid turtles by the following combination of characters (characters marked with an asterisk [*] are alone diagnostic): 1. Eye dull and dark with a vestigial nictitating membrane*. 2. Barbels long and fleshy. 3. Humerus and femur of subequallength*. 4. Inguinal and axillary buttresses of subequal size*. 5. Precentral [nuchal] scute always present. 6. Tail distinctive (all sexes and ages) in having a large precloacal portion*, a longitudinal, slitlike cloacal orifice*, and in being laterally compressed*. 7. Distal caudal vertebrae much higher than long and bearing distinct haemal arches*. 8. Length of tail in adult males more than half length of carapace and significantly longer than combined length of head and neck*. |
| Comment | This is one of the 25 most endangered turtle species according to a 2003 assessment by the IUCN. Type Species: E. macrurus is the type species of the genus Elusor CANN 1994. Habitat: freshwater (rivers) Abundance: Rare. This is one of the species called 'lost' and 'rediscovered' by Lindken et al. 2024. |
| Etymology | Named after Greek makros, long, + Greek oura, tail; referring to the long and distinctively shaped tail. The genus name is derived from Latin “eludo” to escape, to escape notice of; ergo, a contrived word of male gender connoting a frustratingly elusive thing, alluding to the cryptic provenance of this organism during the many years we knew it existed. |
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