Murray River turtle

Emydura macquarrii

The Murray River turtle is a wide-ranging species that occurs throughout many of the rivers of the eastern half of Australia. It is found primarily in the Murray River Basin and all its major tributaries, along with a number of coastal rivers up the New South Wales Coast. It is also found in the coastal Queensland Rivers and the Cooper Creek System, along with Fraser Island.
Murray River Turtles The turtles are found in the Murray River which is the border of Victoria and New South Wales and then through South Australia until reahing the sea. Emydura macquarrii,Murray River turtle

Naming

The generic name ''Emydura'' is derived from the Greek ''emys'' and the Greek ''oura'' , Latinized to ''ura''. Its grammatical gender is feminine. The specific epithet of the species refers to the turtle's type location: the Macquarie River, it would seem the species was not named after Governor Lachlan Macquarie for whom the river is also named.

The species' common names include Murray River turtle, Murray River tortoise, Macquarie turtle, and Murray short neck turtle.
Murray River Turtle Emydura macquarrii,Murray River turtle

Evolution

This species has a long and complicated nomenclatural history, including even its original description. The holotype was originally collected by René Primevère Lesson and Prosper Garnot in 1824. During an expedition on the ''La Coquille'', captained by Louis Isidore Duperrey, which visited Sydney, Australia from 17 January - 25 March 1824, they visited Bathurst, and collected the holotype from the Macquarie River.

The first description of the species was offered by Baron Georges Cuvier in 1929, but this description is nowadays seen as a ''nomen novem''. Hence, the description by John Edward Gray in 1831 is considered the valid description.

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Status: Unknown
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassReptilia
OrderTestudines
FamilyChelidae
GenusEmydura
Species