Emydura macquarii

Macquarie Turtle at Kiah, NSW

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Identification history

	Emydura macquarii	8 Aug 2019	PatrickCampbell
	Unverified	7 Aug 2019	jimm

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User's notes

An unusual, out-of-range sighting of Emydura macquarii. Identify confirmed by Dr Murray at the Australian Museum, Sydney.

3 comments

PatrickCampbell wrote:

9 Aug 2019

I agree with Dr Murray that these animals are surely Emydura macquarii and well out of the species natural range.
This the second non-local native species (the other a Shingleback) sighted recently in this area, suggesting that these animals have been relocated/released and it looks like the turtles have established a wild population, judging by the half dozen specimens basking on the log in the photograph.

PatrickCampbell wrote:

10 Aug 2019

Thanks Max (good idea) and Paul. It's an interesting theory and one which I hadn't considered but I suppose it's possible.

PatrickCampbell wrote:

10 Aug 2019

If you ever happen to get the opportunity to measure the carapace length of an aged or mature adult, it may give an indication as to which subspecies the population originates from. John Cann's book 'Australian Freshwater Turtles' published in 1998 gives detailed descriptions of all subspecies of Emydura macquarii and may be used to get an idea as to where these turtles originally came from.

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Location information

Coordinates 149.860785 -37.159779
Places Kiah, NSW

Sighting information

4 - 15 Abundance
18 Dec 2018 11:52 AM Recorded on
jimm Recorded by
Collections
jimm South Coast NatureMapr Emydura macquarii Turtles Reptiles and Frogs

Species information

Emydura macquarii Scientific name
Macquarie Turtle Common name
Not Sensitive
Local native
Non-invasive or negligible
Up to 794m Recorded at altitude