The Bellinger River turtle (''Myuchelys georgesi'' Cann, 1997) is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Chelidae Chelidae is one of three living families of the turtle suborder Pleurodira, and are commonly called Austro-South American side-neck turtles. The family is distributed in Australia, New Guinea, parts of Indonesia, and throughout most of South Amer ...

. The species is of moderate size (carapace length to 240 mm in females, 185 mm in males), and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

with a highly restricted distribution to the small coastal drainage of the

Bellinger River Bellinger River, an open and trained mature wave dominated, barrier estuary, is located in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Bellinger River rises below Point Lookout within the Great Dividing Ra ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. In the past the species was considered locally abundant. The species' preferred habitat is the deeper pools of the clear-water upstream reaches of the river, where water flows continuously in most months over a bedrock basement and a stream bed of boulders, pebbles, and gravel.Cann , J., Spencer, R.J., Welsh, M., and Georges, A. 2015. ''Myuchelys georgesi'' (Cann 1997) – Bellinger River Turtle. ''Chelonian Research Monographs'' 5(8):091.1–9, oi:10.3854/crm.5.091.georgesi.v1.2015br>
A captive breeding program has been under way since a 2015 virus outbreak came close to wiping out the entire species; most remaining individuals are currently housed in quarantine, though a small number have been reintroduced to the original habitat.

Etymology

The Specific name (zoology), specific name, ''georgesi'', is in honour of

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

Arthur Georges.

Geographic range

''Myuchelys georgesi'' is found in the

and its tributaries, mid-eastern

, Australia.

Habitat

The preferred

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

of ''M. georgesi'' is the deeper pools of the clear-water upstream reaches of the river, where the water flows continuously in most months over a bedrock basement and a boulder, pebble and gravel bed.Cann, J. (1998). ''Australian Freshwater Turtles''. Singapore: Beaumont Publishing. 292 pp. . The species takes advantage of the highly oxygenated water with low particulate load by supplementing its oxygen uptake through

cloaca In animal anatomy, a cloaca ( ), plural cloacae ( or ), is the posterior orifice that serves as the only opening for the digestive, reproductive, and urinary tracts (if present) of many vertebrate animals. All amphibians, reptiles and birds, a ...

l breathing.

Diet

''M. georgesi'' is essentially an omnivore, with tendencies leaning toward carnivory. A high proportion of their food comes from benthic macro-invertebrate communities that are relatively sedentary and live in immediate association with the substratum, but with some terrestrial fruit and aquatic vegetation eaten.

Reproduction

''M. georgesi'' nests from October to December, laying 10-15 oblong white hard-shelled eggs.

Conservation status

Within the Bellinger drainage, a very restricted range, the species was formerly widely distributed and locally abundant, with threats to its persistence including habitat modification and loss of native riparian vegetation, associated turbidification and sedimentation, predation by the introduced European fox, and competition with the recently introduced turtle ''Emydura macquarii''.Georges, A.; Spencer, R.J.; Welsh, M.; Shaffer, H.B.; Walsh, R.; Zhang, X. (2011). "Application of the precautionary principle to taxa of uncertain status-the case of the Bellinger River Turtle". ''Endangered Species Research'' 14: 127-134. In 2015, more than 90% of the adult population was wiped out by a virus, rendering the animal functionally extinct in the wild; a captive breeding program, with limited reintroduction, is working to re-establish a healthy population.

Gallery

Bellinger River turtle 02 Taronga 2020-03-13

Bellinger River turtle 03 Taronga 2020-03-13

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar , from=Q2333446 Myuchelys Turtles of Australia Reptiles described in 1997 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot