The complete etymology of the Elseya genus (Pleurodira:Chelidae)
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Chelodina Elseya Elusor Emydura Macrochelodina Pseudemydura Rheodytes |
Elseya (Gray, 1867)
The generic name was given in honour of Dr Joseph Ravenscroft Elsey (1834-1857),
a surgeon and assisting naturalist to the North Australian Exploring Expedition
led by Augustus Gregory in 1855-56 who brought two type specimens of Elseya
dentata to Dr J. E. Gray. (Cann, 1998) The Elseya genus was
erected by Dr John Edward Gray (1800-1875) in 1867.
Elseya bellii (Gray, 1844)
This species was named in honour of Thomas Bell (1792-1880), a dental surgeon
and professor of zoology who described many reptiles and amphibiants, including
some of those collected by Charles Darwin. (Cann 1998) Bell was also a distinguished
naturalist, and he had the great honor of being the President of the Linnaean
Society. The species was originally described as Phrynops bellii
by Dr J. E. Gray in 1844. Being named after a person, the gender of the
species epithet overrules the gender of the genus and thus is masculine.
Elseya branderhorsti (Ouwens, 1914)
This species was named in honour of Dr. Bastiaan Branderhorst, a military
doctor taking part in excursions to New Guinea (from data communicated in 1997 by Ruud
Altenburg and Marinus Hoogmoed to Roger Bour). Being named after
a person, the gender of the species epithet overrules the gender of the
genus and thus is masculine. Peter A. Ouwens, who originally described the
species as Emydura branderhorsti in 1914, was a Dutch scientist
and a director of the Java Zoological Museum and Botanical Gardens in Bogor.
Elseya dentata (Gray, 1863)
The specific name was derived from the Latin dentatus (toothed)
and refers to the dentated (toothed) hinder margin of the carapace. Gray
(1863) wrote "Shell oval, wider behind; hinder margin dentated, side
edge revolute". The specific epithet is of feminine grammatical gender.
The species was originally described as Chelymys dentata by Dr
J. E. Gray in 1863.
Elseya georgesi (Cann, 1997)
This species was named in honour of Prof. Dr Arthur Georges, a freshwater turtle expert and the director of the Applied Ecology Research Group of the University of Canberra, Australia. Being named after a person, the gender of the species epithet overrules the gender of the genus and thus is masculine. The species was described by John Cann in 1997.
Elseya irwini (Cann, 1997)
This species was named in honour of Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin, the well known manager of Australia Zoo in Queensland. His family ran the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. Steve worked as a crocodile trapper and became famous through his Crocodile Hunter footage. Being named after a person, the gender of the species epithet overrules the gender of the genus and thus is masculine. The species was described by John Cann in 1997.
Elseya latisternum (Gray, 1867)
The specific name was derived from the Latin latitude (breadth,
extent) and the Latin sternum [from the Greek sternon
(chest, breast, breastbone)] and refers to "The front lobe of the sternum
broad". (Gray, 1867) Another part of Gray's description states "There
are two specimens of this species in the Museum; they are at once known
from E. dentata by a greater comparative breadth of the sternum, which is
most marked in the form of the front lobe, though common to all its parts."
(Gray, 1867) The specific epithet is of neuter gender.
Elseya lavarackorum (White and Archer, 1994)
The specific name of this originally thought to be a fossil of an extinct
species was named in honour of Jim and Sue Lavarack who discovered the fossil
at Riversleigh, Queensland, Australia. The Latin postfix -orum
was added to the stem to pluralize the specific name (2 people). (Thomson,
2005, pers. comm.) It is of neuter gender. The species was originally described
as Emydura lavarackorum by Dr Arthur White and Dr Michael Archer
in 1994.
Elseya nadibajagu (Thomson & Mackness, 1999)
The specific epithet of this extinct Elseya species is from the
Gugu-Yalanji dialect phrase nadi bajagu, meaning 'very long time
ago' (Oates et al. 1964) and is used to denote the significant age of the
fossil. It is of neuter gender. (Thomson & Mackness, 1999) The species was
described by Dr Scott A. Thomson and Dr Brian Mackness in 1999.
Elseya novaeguineae (Meyer, 1874)
The Latinized specific name refers to being of New Guinea origin. The species
was originally described as Platemys Novae Guineae by German Dr
Adolf Bernard Meyer (1840-1911) in 1874. Dr Meyer of Anthropological and
Ethnographic Museum of Dresden, Germany was an anthropologist, naturalist
and explorer of Malay Archipelago and New Guinea.
Elseya purvisi (Wells and Wellington, 1985)
This species was named in honour of Malcolm Purvis of North Sydney, New South Wales, a noted herpetologist (Wells and Wellington, 1985). Being named after a person, the gender of the species epithet overrules the gender of the genus and thus is masculine. The species was described by Dr Richard W. Wells and Dr Cliff Ross Wellington in 1985.
Elseya schultzei (Vogt, 1911)
This species was named in honour of Dr Leonhard Schultze (1872-1955), a
German geographer, zoologist, botanist and ethnographer. Being named after
a person, the gender of the species epithet overrules the gender of the
genus and thus is masculine. The species was originally described as Emydura
schultzei by Theodor Vogt, a German naturalist, in 1911.
Elseya uberima (De Vis, 1897)
This extinct species was originally described as Chelymys uberima
by Charles Walter De Vis (1829-1915) in 1897. The specific epithet, the
Latin uberima (utmost, greatest, extreme), may refer to the enlarged
first vertebral scute which is significantly wider than the second. (Thomson,
2000) The specific name is of feminine gender.
Literature cited
Cann, J. 1997. Irwin's Turtle. Monitor 9(1):36-40.
Cann, J. 1998. Georges short-neck turtle. Monitor 9(1):18-23.
Cann, J. 1998. Australian Freshwater Turtles. Beumont Publishing,
Singapore.
Bour, R. 2005. Personnal Communication with the Author.
Gray, J. E. 1844. Catalogue of the Tortoises, Crocodiles
and Amphibaenians in the Collection of the British Museum. London. Edward
Newman. 80pp.
Gray, J. E. 1863. On the species of Chelymys from
Australia, with the description of a new species. Annals and Magazine of
Natural History. 3(12):98-99.
Gray, J. E. 1867. Description of a new Australian tortoise.
Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 3(20):43-45.
Meyer, A. B. 1874. Platemys novaeguineae sp. nov.
Dr W.H. Peters legte vor: Eine mitteilung von Hrn. Adolf Bernhard Meyer
uber die von ihm auf Neu-Guinea under den Inseln Jobi, Mysore und Mafoor
im Jahre 1873 gesammelten Amphibien. Monatsber. Konig. Preuss. Akad. Wiss.
Berlin. 39:128-140.
Ouwens, P. A. 1914. List of Dutch East Indian Chelonians in the Buitenzong Zoological Museum. Contributions a la Faune des Indes Neelandaises. 1:29-32.
Thomson, S., White, A. and Georges, A. 1997. A re-evaluation
of Emydura lavarackorum: Identification of a living fossil. Memoirs
of the Queensland Museum 42(1): 327-336.
Thomson, S. A. & Mackness, B. S. 1999. Fossil Turtles from
the Early Pliocene Bluff Downs Local Fauna, with a description of a new
species of Elseya. Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 123(3),101-105, 30 November,
1999.
Thomson, S. A. 2000. A Revision of the Fossil Chelid Turtles
(Pleurodira) Described by C.W. De Vis, 1897. Memoires of the Queensland
Museum 45(2):593-598. Brisbane. ISSN 0079-8835.
Thomson, S. A. 2005. Personal communication with the author.
Vogt, T. 1911. Emydura schultzei, sp. nov. Reptilien
und Amphibien aus Neu Guinea. Sber. ges. naturf. Freunde, Berl. 9:410-412.
Wells, R. W. and Wellington, C. R. 1985. A classification
of the amphibia and reptilia of Australia. Australian Journal of Herpetology,
Supplementary Series. 1:1-61.
White, A. & Archer, M. 1994. Emydura lavarackorum,
a new Pleistocene turtle (Pleurodira:Chelidae) from fluviatile
deposits at Riversleigh, Northwestern Queensland. Records of the South Australian
Museum 27:159-167.