Cann, J. 1997. The Northern Yellow Faced Turtle. Monitor (1997)9(1):24-29; 34-35.
Emydura tanybaraga sp. nov. Holotype A.M.R125498 Collected by A. Georges
Comment: This description was originally intended to be published in John's book that was published the following year. It is part of a series of three descriptions. Scott Thomson (2006)
History
The Daly River was named by B. T. Finniss in 1865 after Sir Dominick Daly, the Governor of
South Australia. The river itself came into prominence with turtle fanciers in 1970 when it
was reported that the first Australian record of Carettochelys insculpta had been collected in the
river. The following year I travelled to the Daly River at Policeman Crossing in an attempt to
collect one, and while diving upstream from the causeway, two forms of Emydura were collected.
In 1972 I published on the occurrence of two species of Emydura in sympatry in the Daly River
at Daly River Mission and lodged some specimens with the Australian Museum, Sydney.
Two of these specimens were the yellow-faced turtle which are here named as paratypes. Cogger
in 1975 mentioned also that different species of Emydura were living together in the Daly River.
Legler in 1981, writing in the National Geographic Research Report, states "the Genus
of Emydura is recognised as distinct and consisting of a series of allopatric species;
sympatry with other shortnecks occurs by not with other species of Emydura despite the
statements of Cann (1972) and Cogger (1975)". In 1989 Georges and Kennett discovered a third
species of Emydura, living in the upper reaches of the Katherine River, a tributary of the Daly
River and Georges and Adams identified all three as genetically distinct.
TYPE DATA
Holotype: A.M. R125498 Whole adult male with a carapace length of 167.0 mm, collected by Dr
Arthur Georges on the 5th November 1987 near Policeman Crossing, Daly River, Northern
Territory (13'46's x 130°43'E). On the right anterior edge at the 9th marginal the shield is slightly
scalloped from an early injury. Both bridges have been cut for electrophoretic analysis.
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