For a stable nomenclature to develop within any group of species it is important that common usage is justified by accurate identification of holotypes. Unfortunately it occurs at times that the holotype represents a species that is not the same as that to which the name has been applied for a considerable time. When mistakes are found corrections should be made in accordance with the rules and guidelines of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN, 1999).

     The genus Chelodina was described by Fitzinger (1826) to apply to the Australian long-necked turtles with the type species, Chelodina longicollis (Shaw, 1794) being the only member at the time. Gray (1841) added C. oblonga to this genus. Subsequent early additions to the genus were C. colliei (Gray, 1856a), C. expansa (Gray, 1857), C. novaeguineae (Boulenger, 1888) and C. rugosa (Ogilby, 1890), and C. seibenrocki (Werner, 1901). The two species C. oblonga (from "Western Australia") and C. colliei (from Swan River [Perth, Western Australia]) were maintained as separate species by Gray until his last paublished work (Gray, 1873).

In addition he assigned turtles subsequently collected in Port Essington, Northern Territory, to his concept of C. oblonga (Gray 1844, 1856b, 1873). However, C. colliei was later synonymised under C. oblonga by Boulenger (1889) and has not been recognised as distinct since then. Later C. rugosa (from "Cape York") and C. siebenrocki (from "Deutch-Neu-Guinea") were also synonymised under C. oblonga by Siebenrock (1909, 1915). This usage persisted in most Australian literature for the next half century, with all similar-appearing long-necked turtles from northern and western Australia referred to as C. oblonga. (eg Worrell, 1963). However, Mertens and Wermuth (1955) and Wermuth and Mertens (1961) resurrected the New Guinea species C. siebenrocki from the synonomy of C. oblonga, and Goode (1967), recognising that northern Australian long-necked turtles were in fact very similar to the New Guinean C. siebenrocki, then utilised that name (erroneously ) for the northern Australian form and restricted usage of the name C. oblonga to the southwestern Australian form from Perth. Cogger and Lindner (1974) and Burbidge et al. (1974) then corrected Goode's usage by resurrecting the earlier name C. rugosa instead of C. siebenrocki for the northern Australian form.

Figure 1. Dorsal and ventral views of the holotype of Chelodina oblonga (BMNH 1947.3.5.89).

Since then major field guides such as Cogger (1975, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1992), checklists and catalogues such as Iverson (1985, 1992) and Cogger et al. (1983) and numerous journal papers have utilised the name C. rugosa for the northern Australian form. Chelodina siebonrocki, if valid at all (it may be synonymous with C. rugosa), is restricted to New Guinea (Rhodin and Mittermeier, 1976).

     Current prevailing usage for 33 years since 1967 has the restricted name Chelodina oblonga referring to the isolated long-necked turtle endemic to the southwest corner of Western Australia in Perth; a population which represents a valid species (Burbidge et al., 1974; Georges and Adams, 1992). The same prevailing usage for 26 years since 1974 has the name Chelodina rugosa referring to the long-necked turtles ranging from Cape York across northern Australia to Northern Territory to northern Western Australia. The name Chelodina colliei, originally used for the Perth population, has not been used for over 111 years since being synonymised in 1889.

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