Novo1

Chelodina novaeguineae (Boulenger, 1888)
New Guinea Snake-necked Turtle

The New Guinea snake-necked turtle is restricted to the southern part of New Guinea and Irian Jaya, where it lives in slow moving rivers, swamps and seasonal lagoons.

At present there is controversial discussion over the correct taxonomy of the Chelodina species in northern Australia, southern New Guinea and bordering Irian Jaya. As a first result of some recent investigations, the Australian species of Chelodina novaeguinea was described as an independent species by Scott Thomson and it was named Chelodina canni after John Cann the famous Turtle researcher. Chelodina pritchardi in the eastern part of Papua Guinea remains momentarily unaffected by the discussion.
The taxonomic allocation of the remaining Chelodina species in southern Papua and Iria Jaya becomes by far more difficult. Valid species are currently Chelodina novaeguinea and Chelodina reimanni. These two species can hardly be separated in terms of genetic differences, exhibit however significant morphologic differences. Chelodina reimanni seems to be a Chelodina novaeguinea form, which has specialised over thousands of year on eating molluscs and as a consequence features a very massive head. Further investigation need to prove Chelodina reimanni as a valid species or reduce the status to subspecies level (Chelodina novaeguinea ' reimanni ')? Another undescribed Chelodinen species of this novaeguineae group is known from the southern area. This species features a whitish snout and hatchlingss display a yellow spot or horseshoe shaped spot between the eyes. The exact taxonomic allocation must be further examined