The complete etymology of the Macrochelodina genus (Pleurodira:Chelidae)
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Chelodina Elseya Elusor Emydura Macrochelodina Pseudemydura Rheodytes |
Macrochelodina (Wells and Wellington, 1985)
The generic name was derived from the Greek makro (big, huge) and
the genus name Chelodina (Chelys+deinos) and suggests
this genus resembles and is related to the Chelodina genus members
while the Macrochelodina clade members are broad-headed. Its grammatical
gender is feminine. The members of the Macrochelodina genus used
to belong to the Chelodina genus before the Macrochelodina
genus was erected by Richard W. Wells and Cliff Ross Wellington in 1985.
Macrochelodina alanrixi (Lapparent
de Broin and Molnar, 2001)
This extinct species was named in honour of Dr Alan Rix, of the University of Queensland, who discovered and collected new chelonian material from the Eocene deposits at Redbank Plains, Southeast Queensland in 1990. (Lapparent de Broin and Molnar, 2001) 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 France de Lapparent de Broin and Ralph E. Molnar in 2001.
Macrochelodina burrungandjii (Thomson, Kennett
& Georges, 2000)
The specific epithet, burrungandjii, derives from the proper noun
Burrungandji used by the Gagadju people of the western Arnhem Land
region (Gundjeihmi language) to distinguish the turtle from all other turtles
in the region (Lucas and Russel-Smith, 1993). We chose these names to recognise
the long association between Aboriginal people and the turtle and their
prior and detailed knowledge of the freshwater turtle fauna of Australia.
(Thomson, Kennett & Georges, 2000)
Macrochelodina expansa (Gray, 1857)
The specific name was derived from the Latin expando (to spread
out, spread apart, to expand) and refers to the size of the type specimen
which was greater than the other then known Chelodina species.
Gray (1856): "This species differs from C. longicollis, C. oblonga and
C. colliei, in the generally expanded form, and especially in the breadth
and non-revolution of the lateral margin, and in the side of the sternum
not being sharply keeled as in the two latter species." Its grammatical
gender is feminine. The species was originally described as Chelodina
expansa by Dr J. E. Gray in 1857.
Macrochelodina insculpta (de Vis, 1897)
The specific epithet was derived from the Latin insculptum (to
cut or carve in, engrave) and refers to textural pattern of the carapace.
Its grammatical gender is feminine. This extinct species was originally
described as Chelodina insculpta by Charles Walter De Vis (1829-1915),
an England-born Australian zoologist and ornithologist, the curator of the
Queensland Museum (1882-1905).
Macrochelodina parkeri (Rhodin and Mittermeier,
1976)
This species was named in honour of Fred Parker of Townsville, Queensland,
an Australian naturalist and explorer who collected multitudes of specimens
that are deposited in several museums. 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 Chelodina parkeri by Dr
Anders G. J. Rhodin and Dr Russell A. Mittermeier in 1976.
Macrochelodina rugosa (Ogilby, 1890)
The specific name was derived from the Latin rugosus (wrinkled)
and refers to the sculptured carapace: "All the plates of the carapace
densely and, with the exception of the marginal plates, deeply sculptured;
for the most part this sculpturation is most eccentric in character, consisting
chiefly of a network of deep grooves enclosing nodules of many shapes and
sizes; on the middle vertebral plates, however it takes a more or less regular
longitudinal form, while on the lower half of some of the costal plates,
a tendency to a transverse ornamentation may be traced : plates of the plastron
and bridge distinctly marked by a network of grooves scarcely perceptible
to the touch." (Ogilby, 1890) Its grammatical gender is feminine. The
species was originally described as Chelodina rugosa by James Douglas
Ogilby (1853 - 1925) in 1890. J. D. Ogilby, an Irish ichthyologist and taxonomist
worked for the British Museum, Australian Museum (1885-1890), and for the
Queensland Museum under various arrangements (1901-1904 and 1913-1920).
Literature cited
Gray, J. E. 1857. Description of a new species of Chelodina
from Australia. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1856:369-371.
Lapparent de Broin F. de & Molnar R. E. 2001. Eocene chelid
turtles from Redbank Plains, Southeast Queensland, Australia. Geodiversitas
23 (1): 41-79.
Lucas, D. and Russel-Smith, J. 1993. Traditional Resources
of the South Alligator Floodplain: Utilisation and Management. Unpubl. Rep.
to the Australian Nature Conservation Agency.
Ogilby, J. B. 1890. Description of a new Australian tortoise.
Records of the Australian Museum 1:56-59.
Rhodin, A. G. J. and Mittermeier, R. A. 1976. Chelodina parkeri,
a new species of Chelid turtle from New Guinea, with a discussion of Chelodina
seibenrocki Werner, 1901. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology.
147(11):465-488.
Thomson S., Kennett R. and Georges A. 2000. A new species
of long necked turtle (Chelidae:Chelodina) from the sandstone plateau
of Arnhem Land, Northern Australia. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 3:675-685.
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.
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.