Chelodina Species

Overview over the different Species

For some species I have detailed information about captive husbandry and breeding in captivity. Those can be viewed by either clicking on the picture or name below.

A more general overview about all currently recognized species and their taxonomic status you will find below.

Chelodina longicollis

Macrochelodina parkeri

Chelodina mccordi

Chelodina reimanni

Macrochelodina rugosa

Macrochelodina expansa

Chelodina oblonga

Chelodina novaeguineae

Chelodina steindachneri

Chelodina

Taxonomic overview :

The complete taxonomy was revised recently and the Genus Chelodina is now splitted into two functionally different groups called the Chelodina longicollis group (true Chelodina) and the Chelodina expansa group (Macrochelodina).

Testudines : Plerudira : Chelidae : Chelodina
Testudines : Plerodira : Chelidae : Macrochelodina

A new species was described recently as Chelodina burrungandjii (now Macrochelodina burrungandjii) from Northern Australia (Arnheim Land).

Chelodina novaeugineae was seperated into Cheldoina noveaguineae (New Guinea form) and Chelodina canni (Australien form)

Chelodina siebenrocki was found to be an invalid species, not having enough differences to Chelodina rugosa in terms of electrophoresis data and/or lacking reliable morphological differences. Therefore the older name Chelodina rugosa has precedence. With the new Genus Macrochelodina the former Chelodina rugosa and Chelodina siebenrocki is now combined to Macrochelodina rugosa.

Macrochelodina kuchlingi is only known from one single preserved specimen. Validity of this species and correlation to the existing species need further analysis. Therefore it is not found in the taxonomic overview, only in the species overview.

There is also some confusion with the holotype of Chelodina oblonga. This holotype represents most probably the Chelodina rugosa form. Therefore the naming of Chelodina oblonga may not be used for this species anymore, and it my be necessary to resurrect the name Chelodina colliei (Gray 1856) for this southwestern Australian species from the Pert region.

Genus Chelodina

Snake-necked turtles of the Genus Chelodina typically stay smaller than those of the Genus Macrochelodina. They also have rellative narrow heads , shorter and thinner necks and broader Plastrons. The most frequently kept snake-necks in captivity within this group are C. longicollis and C. mccordi. Sometimes C. reimanni has been imported in small numbers, but is rarely found since it is more difficult to keep.

Also there seems to be some confusion between C. novaeguineae and C. mccordi that are kept in private collections in Europe and the US.
C. noveaguineae specimen that have been imported from Indonesia in the last years may turn out to be C. mccordi. Further investigation need to be done on the existing animals in captivity.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Distribution
Chelodina longicollis	Eastern Long-necked Turtle or Common Snake-Necked Turtle	Southeast Australia
Chelodina mccordi	Roti Island Snake-necked Turtle or McCord's Snake-necked Turtle	Roti Island, Indonesia
Chelodina novaeguineae	New Guinea Snake-necked Turtle	New Guinea
Chelodina canni	Cann's Snake-necked Turtle	Northern Australia (Cap York)
Chelodina pritchardi	Pritchard's Snake-necked Turtle	New Guinea
Chelodina steindachneri	Steindachner's Snake-necked Turtle	Northwest Australia
Chelodina reimanni	Reimann's Snake-necked Turtle	Irian Jaya, Indonesia
Chelodina oblonga	Narrow Breasted Snake-necked Turtle	South-Western Australia

Macrochelodina

Genus Macrochelodina:

Species of the genus Macrochelodina get larger and heavier than those of the Genus Chelodina. The most frequently kept snake-necks in captivity is Macrochelodina rugosa (former C. siebenrocki). Sometimes Macrochelodina parkeri is imported in small numbers and sold in the pet market but seems to be very rare and expensive. All other snake-necks from Australia are virtuelly unavailable as Australia does not allow the export of turtles except for scientific purposes.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Distribution
Macrochelodina rugosa	Northern Snake-Necked Turtle	Northern Australia, Southern Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea
Macrochelodina parkeri	Parker's Side-Necked Turtle	Papua New Guinea
Macrochelodina burungandjii	Sandstone Snake-Necked Turtle	Northern Australia
Macrochelodina expansa	Broad-Shelled Turtle or Giant Snake-necked Turtle	Souteast Australia
Macrochelodina kuchlingi	Kuchling's Snake-Necked Turtle	Nortwestern Australia

More details obout the individual species you can find in following table:

Comparison Table

Scientific Name	Chelodina longicollis	Chelodina mccordi	Chelodina reimanni	Macrochelodina rugosa	Macrochelodina parkeri	Macrochelodina expansa
Average Size (CPL)	18-24 cm (7.0-9.5 ")	18-24cm (7.0-9.5 ")	14-21cm (5.5-8.3 ")	20-30cm (7.9-11.8 ")	20-27cm (7.9-10.6 ")	35-45cm (13.8-19.7 ")
Maximum Size (CPL)	254mm (10")					480mm (18.9")
Protection Status	Protected under Australian Wildlife Regulations	CITES, Appendix II	Lower Risk: Near Theratend (IUCN)	Lower Risk: Near Theratend (IUCN)	Vulnerable (IUCN)	Protected under Australian Wildlife Regulations
Egg Size	40 x 19 mm (1.60 x 0.75 ")	30 x 20 mm (1.2 x 0.8 ")	34 x 23 mm (1.34 x 0.9 ")		35 x 18 mm (1.5 x 0.71 ")
Egg Weight	10 g (0.35oz)	10 g (0.35oz)		15 g (0.53oz)	12 g (0.42oz)	20 g (0.7oz)
Average Clutch Size	6-10	8-14	6-15	6-13	8-10	15-18
Multiple Clutches	Yes (up to 2)	Yes (up to 3)	Yes (up to 3)	Rarely	Yes (up to 3)	Yes (up to 3)
Chamber Depth	10-15cm (4-6")	10-15cm (4-6")	10-15cm (4-6")	15-20cm (6-8")		20 cm (8")
Incubation Time	90 days	90-120 days	65-80 days	90-180 days	90-100 days	120 days
Hatchling Size	32 x 18mm (1.26 x 0.71 ")	28 x 22mm (1.1 x 0.86 ")	30mm (1.2 ")	36 x 25mm (1.40 x 1")	31 x 24mm (1.22 x 0.94")	35 x 30mm (1.40 x 1.2")

Notes:

1) The table was put together with data from my own animals and from what I have found in literature.

2) Incubation time may be considerably longer in nature due to temperature fluctuations and diapause phenomena. Also hatchlings may wait inside the egg before hatching in more suitable conditions (rain, temperature)

3) Size (Carapace lenght = CPL) is given as average size in captive kept animals. Size may vary considerably between males and females. Also old animals and single specimen may grow much larger (max. size)