Myuchelys
| Myuchelys | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Pleurodira |
| Family: | Chelidae |
| Subfamily: | Chelodininae |
| Genus: |
Myuchelys Thomson & Georges, 2009 |
| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Wollumbinia (nomen illegitimum) |
|
Myuchelys bellii
Myuchelys georgesi
Myuchelys latisternum
Wollumbinia (nomen illegitimum)
The Myuchelys is a genus of turtles, the Australian saw-shelled turtles, in the family Chelidae. They inhabit the headwaters and tributaries of rivers within their range and this led to the name Myuchelys, which is formed from the Aboriginal word myuna meaning clear water and the Greek chelys meaning turtle. They have a short neck and the intergular scute completely separates the gular scutes. They have no alveolar ridge separating them from the snapping turtles of the genus Elseya.
The genus currently contains these cryptic small species of freshwater turtles, endemic to eastern and northern Australia:
The species M. latisternum was originally placed in the genus Elseya by Gray, 1867 but Elseya was redefined by Boulenger, 1889 to include species defined by the presence of an alveolar ridge. Hence, Myuchelys latisternum and Myuchelys novaeguineae were moved to the genus Emydura. In 1967, the two species were placed back in the genus Elseya by Goode, where they remained until recently.
During the time, the species Myuchelys bellii was basically lost to knowledge, having been misidentified as a South American species when described by Gray, 1844, and was in the genus Phrynops until this oversight was corrected by Cann, 1998. The species Myuchelys georgesi and Myuchelys purvisi were initially placed in the genus Elseya, but were identified as belonging to a unique clade along with Myuchelys latisternum and Myuchelys bellii using electrophoresis.
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