''Elseya dentata'' (Gray, 1863),
[Gray, J.E. 1863. On the species of ''Chelymys'' from Australia, with the description of a new species. ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History''. 3(12):98-99] the northern snapping turtle, is a large aquatic
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 t ...
found throughout many rivers in northern
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
and the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
. It is one of three species in the nominate
subgenus ''Elseya''.
Etymology
This species is named for the serrated margin of the shell, mostly only visible in younger animals.
Taxonomy
During their revision of the New Guinea ''Elseya'' a
lectotype
In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...
was set for this species. Further it was placed in a
subgenus and as the type species of the genus it is therefore in the nominate subgenus.
[Thomson, S., Amepou, Y., Anamiato, J. & Georges, A. 2015. A new species and subgenus of ''Elseya'' (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae) from New Guinea. ''Zootaxa'' 4006(1):59-82]
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References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2517394
Elseya (Elseya)
dentata
Reptiles described in 1863
Taxa named by John Edward Gray
Turtles of Australia