Chelodina

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Chelodina
Eastern Long-necked Tortoise (Chelodina longicollis)
Conservation status
Secure
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Order: Testudines Suborder: Pleurodira Family: Chelidae Genus: Chelodina Fitzinger, 1826
Species
See text

Chelodina is an ancient genus of Chelid turtles native to Australia, New Guinea and the island of Roti of the Indonesian archepeligo. The first fossils (C. alanrixi) are known from Queensland from the Eocene period. The turtles within this genus are small to medium sized, with oval shaped carapace. They are side-necked turtles, meaning they tuck their head partially around the side of their body when threatened instead of directly backwards. Chelodina and the genus Macrochelodina describe snake-necked turtles.

[edit] Taxonomy

• Chelodina canni (McCord & Thomson, 2002)
• Chelodina colliei (Gray, 1856)
• Chelodina longicollis (Shaw, 1794)
• Chelodina mccordi (Rhodin, 1994)
• Chelodina novaeguineae (Boulenger, 1888)
• Chelodina pritchardi (Rhodin, 1994)
• Chelodina reimanni (Philippen and Grossmann, 1990)
• Chelodina steindachneri (Siebenrock, 1914)

[edit] References

• Taxonomic history of the genus Chelodina
• GBIF Biodiversity Data Portal
• Turtle of the World>Species Chelodina (Snake-necked turtles)