Elseya uberrima

Extinct species of turtle

Elseya uberrima
Temporal range: Pliocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Pleurodira
Family: Chelidae
Genus: Elseya
Subgenus: Pelocomastes
Species:
E. uberrima
Binomial name
Elseya uberrima
(De Vis, 1897)

Elseya uberrima is a Pliocene species of extinct Australian snapping turtle.

Taxonomy

During his time at the Queensland Museum, Charles Walter De Vis described a number of fossil turtles from the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia.[1] All four species described were declared a single diagnosable species by Thomson, 2000.[1]

To avoid confusion the synonymy for the species is as follows:

  • Elseya uberrima (De Vis, 1897[2])
    • Chelymys uberrima De Vis, 1897: 3[2]
    • Chelymys antiqua De Vis 1897: 4[2]
    • Chelymys arata De Vis 1897: 5[2]
    • Pelocomastes ampla De Vis 1897: 6–7[2]

This synonymy has made the genus name Pelocomastes a junior synonym of Elseya and in their recent revision of that genus Thomson et al. (2015)[3] resurrected Pelocomastes as a subgenus to represent the Queensland clade of the Elseya. Therefore, Elseya (Pelocomastes) uberrima is the type species for this subgenus.

A) Lectotype of Elseya uberrima; B) Lectotype of Elseya arata; C-D) dorsal and ventral views of the lectotype of Pelocomastes ampla.
A) Lectotype of Elseya uberrima; B) lectotype of Elseya arata; C-D) dorsal and ventral views of the lectotype of Pelocomastes ampla.

References

  1. ^ a b Thomson SA. 2000. A Revision of the Fossil Chelid Turtles (Pleurodira) Described by C.W. De Vis, 1897. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 45 (2): 593–598. (Brisbane).
  2. ^ a b c d e De Vis CW. 1897. The extinct freshwater turtles of Queensland. Annals of the Queensland Museum 3: 3–7.
  3. ^ Thomson, S., Amepou, Y., Anamiato, J. & Georges, A. 2015. A new species and subgenus of Elseya (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae) from New Guinea. Zootaxa 4006(1):59–82. Preview (PDF)
Taxon identifiers
Elseya uberrima
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Side-necked turtle species
Family
Subfamily
Genus
Subgenus
Chelidae
Chelinae
Acanthochelys
 
Chelus
 
Mesoclemmys
 
Phrynops
 
Platemys
 
Ranacephala
 
Rhinemys
 
Chelodininae
Chelodina
Chelodina
Chelydera
Macrochelodina
Elseya
Elseya
Pelocomastes
Hanwarachelys
Elusor
 
Emydura
 
Myuchelys
 
Rheodytes
 
Hydromedusinae
Hydromedusa
 
Pseudemydurinae
Pseudemydura
 
Pelomedusidae
 
Pelomedusa
 
Pelusios
 
Podocnemididae
 
Erymnochelys
 
Peltocephalus
 
Podocnemis
 
  • Phylogenetic arrangement of turtles based on Turtles of the World 2021 Update: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status. Key: †=extinct.
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Suborder
Superfamily
Family
Cryptodira
Chelonioidea
(Sea turtles)
Cheloniidae
Dermochelyidae
 
Kinosternoidea
Dermatemydidae
Kinosternidae
Testudinoidea
Emydidae
Geoemydidae
 Platysternidae
Testudinidae
Trionychia
Carettochelyidae
Trionychidae
 
 
Chelydridae
Nanhsiungchelyidae
Protostegidae
 
Pleurodira
 
Araripemydidae
Bothremydidae
Chelidae
Pelomedusidae
Podocnemididae
Sahonachelyidae
 
 
 
  • Phylogenetic arrangement of turtles based on Turtles of the World 2017 Update: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status. † = extinct.