Elseya lavarackorum (White & Archer, 1994)
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Emydura lavarackorum White & Archer, 1994 (original combination)
Conservation Status
Extinct or rediscovered
Last record: Pleistocene
Described as a fossil species (White & Archer, 1994), it was later considered to have been discovered alive as a living fossil (Thomson et al., 1997). However, newer research indicates that the living population represents a different, undescribed species (Joseph-Ouni et al., 2020) which is known as the Gulf snapping turtle, though a newer study finds that the extant population should be considered E. lavarackorum (Thomson et al., 2023).
Distribution
Northern Territory/Queensland border, Australia
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
White, A. and Archer, M. (1994). Emydura lavarackorum, a new Pleistocene turtle (Pleurodira: Chelidae) from fluviatile deposits at Riversleigh, Northwestern Queensland. Records of the South Australian Museum 27: 159-167.
Other references:
Archer, Michael, Arena, Derrick A. et al. (2006). Current status of species-level representation in faunas from selected fossil localities in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland. Alcheringa, Special Issue 1: 1-17.
Curtis, Lee K., Dennis, Andrew J., McDonald, Keith R., Kyne, Peter M. and Debus, Stephen J. S. (eds.). Queensland's Threatened Animals. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing. xv + 449 pp.
Ferronato, Bruno de Oliveira and Georges, Arthur. (2023). Distribution of Freshwater Turtle Rock Art and Archaeological Sites in Australia: a Glimpse into Aboriginal Use of Chelonians. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 18(2): 374-391.
Joseph-Ouni, M., McCord, W.P., Cann, J., Smales, I., Freeman, A., Sadlier, R., Couper, P., White, A. and Amey, A. (2020). The relics of Riversleigh: Re-examination of the fossil record of Elseya (Testudines: Chelidae) with description of a new extant species from the Gulf of Carpentaria drainages, Queensland, Australia. The Batagur Monographs 3: 7-69.
Maguire, Kemii. (10 December, 2020). Turtle gets new name as researchers discover mistaken identity. ABC News (online).
Thomson, Scott A. (2000). A revision of the fossil chelid turtles (Pleurodira) described by C.W. de Vis, 1897. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 45(2): 593-598.
Thomson, Scott A., Friol, Natália R, White, Arthur, Wedd, Dion and Georges, Arthur. (2023). The Australian gulf snapping turtle Elseya lavarackorum (Testudines: Chelidae) revisited—Is the late Pleistocene fossil species extant? Vertebrate Zoology 73: 237-256. https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.73.e99495
Thomson, Scott A., White, A. and Georges, A. (1997). Re-evaluation of Emydura lavarackorum: identification of a living fossil. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 42(1): 327-336.
Thorn, Kailah M., Poropat, Stephen F., Bell, Phil R., Hocknull, Scott A., Kear, Bejamin P., Palci, Alessandro, Salisbury, Steven W. and Yates, Adam M. (2021). Checklist of the fossil reptile and amphibian species of Australia. Available from: https://www.australasianpalaeontologists.com/national-fossil-species-lists [Accessed 24 November 2024]