Southwestern Snake-necked Turtle

Scientific name: Chelodina colliei

Meaning of name:

The meaning of Chelodina is not known. Colliei is in honour of Scottish physician and naturalist Alexander Collie.

This species was previously known as Chelodina oblonga however it is now identified as a different species. The new name was accepted in 2013.

Distribution:

Occurs from Kalbarri to Esperance in permanent freshwater and seasonal swamps.

Description:

A dark brown or black flat-shelled turtle. The shell can be up to 40 centimetres long.

Notes:

This turtle spends most of its time in water. Occasionally it can be seen basking on partly submerged rocks or logs.

Females, when ready to lay eggs, can be seen travelling considerable distances over land. Clutches of up to 25 eggs are laid from October to February, and take many months to hatch.

The Southwestern Snake-necked Turtle is carnivorous, feeding on fish, molluscs and crustaceans. Turtles have been seen feeding on dead ducks in our reserves.

References:

A Guide to the Reptiles and Frogs of the Perth Region. Brian Bush, Brad Maryan, Robert Browne-Cooper, David Robinson. 1995

Atlas of Living Australia https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/967549e7-7fa9-4770-b86e-5e3520d3c43d

Wilipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_snake-necked_turtle