Chelodina mccordi (Rhodin 1994)
               Roti Island Snake-Necked Turtle
 
Chelodina mccordi occurs only on Roti Island, Indonesia, a small island southwest of Timor. It's closest relatives are C. novaeguineae and C. pritchardi from Papua New Guinea.
Chelodina mccordi lives in swamps, lakes and rice paddies in the southern part of the island and reaches an average size of about 22 cm, some individuals growing even larger. The Carapace is light grayish-brown and some specimens have a darker chestnut brown carapace. The Plastron is pale yellowish-white, many specimens having irregular light-brown areas along the plastral sutures.
The neck is covered with small, more rounded instead of pointed tubercles.
 
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Adult Female
 
Plastron view
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Hatchling Plastron
 
Hatchling Carapace
 
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Typical C. mccordi egg
30 x 22mm, 8g

Chelodina mccordi hatchlings may hatch after 90 days, however the delay between first and last animal to hatch may be up to 30 days. The delayed development as described earlier may be the explanation for this phenomena.
Chelodina mccordi babies have yellow spots on the plastron which are smaller and more filiform than those of C longicollis. These spots darken with age and the plastron almost turns black after a few weeks. When the hatchling grows further, the plastron gets paler and paler until it turns into the final yellowish-white color, the typical appearance of the adult species.

Conservation Status
Described in 1994 this turtles is restricted to an area of occupancy of less than 100 sq. km on the single small island of Roti, Indonesia, where in less than 10 years it has rapidly reached commercial extinction due to over-collection for the international pet trade. Despite the existence of good habitat, this snake-necked turtle has nearly disappeared from areas of former occurrence and a species recovery plan is urgently needed.

Chelodina mccordi is now listed under CITES II apendix since october 2004.
Therefore the trade with this species is strictly regulated by national and international laws.
 
A Taxon Management Group (TMG) has been established by the Turtle Surveillance Alliance (TSA) in order to set up a recovery plan for this threatened species. This includes to establish a genetically viable assurance colony in the US and in Europe, consisting of multiple generations as a short term goal. Long-term goal is the ability to reintroduce the species into it's original habitat on Roti island (Turtle Surveillance Alliance).  
 
 
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