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New Guinea snapping turtle
- Elseya novaeguineae

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Like other freshwater turtles, the New Guinea snapping turtle alternate periods in the water with time spent in the sun to raise body temperature.
New Guinea snapping turtle
New Guinea snapping turtle – Brian.gratwicke, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Content

Origin / Distribution

The New Guinea snapping turtle (Elseya novaeguineae) found on islands and rivers off the coast of Australia and New Guinea, like Fraser Island, the garden river, Daru, cape york, the Stradbroke Islands and the Torres Strait Islands. These turtles are also found in lowland swamps, covering large areas of the tropical and open plains of western Papua New Guinea.

Characteristics / Appearance

The New Guinea snapping turtle has an olive-colored head with a yellow-cream stripe that runs from the tip of the nose to the iris, passing through the eye. They have a prominent upper jaw and two yellow whiskers on their chins.; the same yellow coloration runs along the light-colored jaw line.

The upper neck region is dark gray and the lower, light grey, with red veins that run through it. This same coloration appears on the lower jaw and on the belly of the turtle., although the color may vary between bright orange, yellow or pink. The extremities, the tail, the plastron and abdominal regions are marked with red.

The New Guinea snapping turtle Young usually has brighter marks that fade as it grows., and its red color turns pink over time.

Females have a larger shell, but its tail is shorter. The shells of males oscillate between 13,3 and 17,3 cm., and those of females between 15,2 and 25,5 cm..

The New Guinea snapping turtle is a member of the family of side-necked freshwater turtles, Chelidae. They can be characterized by the way they extend and retract the neck. Place the neck and head on their side, below the top edge of the shell.

Habitat

The preferred habitat of the New Guinea snapping turtle are the rivers, swamps and ponds of Papua New Guinea and Australia. In the lower reaches of the Kikori and Omati rivers they inhabit slow-moving waters, seasonal wetlands and wetlands.

Like other freshwater turtles, the New Guinea snapping turtle alternate periods in the water with sunny time to increase body temperature. Most of their life is spent in the water, where they look for food. If there is a shortage of water in the warmer months, move to flooded areas.

Behavior

Emydura macquarii
National Aquarium in Baltimore, Baltimore MD .. Name: Emydura macquarii – Photo by David J. pole, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The New Guinea snapping turtle swims and sunbathes to control internal body temperature. During the sunbathing process, tears go down the side of the turtle's head and enter the mouth as it opens and closes, what are known as gular movements.

Wetting the head or limbs, removing limbs from heat exposure and changing breathing patterns are mechanisms that prevent overheating.

The New Guinea snapping turtle, just like other short-necked turtles, snaps and bites when threatened, causing painful wounds. They stick their heads in while tilting their shell toward predators to reduce damage to soft parts of the body..

Reproduction

In many sea turtles, freshwater and terrestrial, the sex of the embryo is influenced by the incubation temperature. But, this is not the case for the Australian turtles studied to date, lacking temperature-dependent sex determination.

Species Elseya novaeguineae mate all year round, with peaks in spring and autumn.

During the breeding season, males communicate with females with a series of signaling postures, including a combination of simultaneous caresses, blinking eyes and swinging of the head. The female may be motionless or swimming; when she stops the encounter and comes to the surface, the male quickly adopts a nose-to-nose position, making nose jets. Males and females continue to bob their heads in an alternating sequence while aligning their bodies.. Once this maneuver is completed, mating begins.

The New Guinea snapping turtle has odor glands in its shell that produce odors used during competition between males during the breeding season.

The gestation period lasts from 2 to 4 months.

Ovulation and nesting begin in early spring. Only female turtles come out of the water at night or first thing in the morning to lay eggs in hollow cavities built into sand or soil.. Females lay eggs in about an hour.

These turtles can produce two to four clutches a year., laying four to eleven eggs each time, with an average of 7 eggs in each clutch.

The eggs hatch and hatch in the next dry season, between July and August. There are many factors that can influence the incubation and hatching period: ambient temperatures, cloudiness, the level and flow of the river, the tides and the phase of the moon. Elevated temperatures favor early hatching and cold temperatures favor late hatching..

After digging a cavity and laying the eggs, the female of New Guinea snapping turtle immediately returns to fresh water, leaving eggs exposed.

The hatchlings make their journey to fresh water without the guidance or protection of their parents..

Food

The New Guinea snapping turtle it is omnivorous and feeds on filamentous algae, perifiton, sponges, aquatic macrophytes, aquatic macroinvertebrates, terrestrial insects falling into the water and carrion. These turtles also rely heavily on mollusc crushing., fish, insects, worms, aquatic plants, plant matter and seeds as part of your daily life.

They depend on their wide jaws, sharp and and their front legs to tear food, and its tongue serves to direct the food towards the gaznate.

Threats to the species

State of conservation ⓘ


Status Minor Concern ⓘ (UICN)ⓘ

The New Guinea snapping turtle it is listed as a species of least concern by IUCN. But, there may be isolated populations in arid regions throughout their range and have extended times until sexual maturity. This combination leads some to think that a preventative conservation program should be applied.. Growing anthropogenic threats also pose a threat.

Predators include introduced red foxes and domestic cats. Water rats, goannas and crows prey on their nests and the offspring of many species of the genus Elseya.

Human predation includes the taking of eggs and adults as a local food source. The Emydura subglobosa has four scent glands as a defense mechanism against predators. The odor is usually only released when threatened. Although the use of musk is unknown, Recent data suggests that once the powerful smell is released, nearby predators leave the surrounding area.

The "New Guinea snapping turtle" in captivity

Aquaterrarium

The New Guinea snapping turtle can reach a maximum size of 30 cm in the aquarium. For its maintenance and care, an aquarium with an integrated terrestrial part is recommended. This container must have an edge length of at least 150 cm.. The water part should be very large and offer these swimming turtles a lot of free space. Other decorations would only unnecessarily restrict the turtles' swimming space and, Therefore, are not necessary.

These aquatic turtles are peaceful and friendly creatures.. They can be kept in pairs or in a group with several congeners without any problem.. It is also possible to keep them with other turtles of the same size and tranquility.

The New Guinea snapping turtle prefers a water temperature between 22 and 28 degrees centigrade and a pH value between 6,0 and 8,0. A UV lamp must be installed for the turtles to sunbathe. Below this temperature, animals can also enjoy temperatures between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius.

Food

The New Guinea snapping turtle is omnivorous. They can be fed frozen and live food. Especially fish, insects and invertebrates are easily accepted.

Reproduction

The New Guinea snapping turtle (Emydura novaeguineae) has already been successfully bred in the aquarium. They are possible almost 4 put per year.

Buy one "New Guinea snapping turtle"

The price of a "New Guinea snapping turtle" at the exotic animal market, bred in captivity, ranges between 90 – 120 EUR.

New Guinea Snapping Turtle Facts

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Videos "New Guinea snapping turtle"

Elseya novaeguineae

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Alternative names:

1. Western New Guinea stream turtle or New Guinea snapping turtle (English).
2. Tortue de Nouvelle-Guinée (French).
3. Neuguinea-Schnappschildkröte (German).
4. Tartaruga de córrego do oeste da Nova Guiné (Portuguese).
5. Tortuga mordedora de Nueva Guinea, Tortuga del arroyo de Nueva Guinea occidental (español).

Sources:

1 – (Legler y Georges, 1993)
2 – (Adams y Georges, 1996; Georges, 1995; Georges, et to the., 2006; Legler y Georges, 1993; Webb, 1978)
3 – (Georges Guarino and Bito, 2006)
4 – (Legler y Georges, 1993; Ernst y Barbour, 1989)
5 – (Werneburg et al., 2009)

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