Snake-necked Turtle
Chelodina longicollis
CLASS: Reptilia
ORDER: Testudines
FAMILY: Chelidae
SIZE:
Carapace is up to 10 inches, neck up to 6 inches long
RANGE:
Southeastern Australia north to southern Queensland
HABITAT:
Snake-necked turtles are a freshwater species that prefers to live in slow-moving rivers, streams, swamps, and pools.
DIET:
Wild - They are carnivorous, eating any aquatic animal that is small enough for them to handle.
Zoo - Fish, meat
DESCRIPTION:
Snake-necked turtles have necks that are over half as long as their carapace.
Their head, neck, and legs are brown to dark gray above, the head and neck are yellowish below, the legs are cream colored below.
The skin on their neck is covered with pointed tubercles.
The carapace is dark brown to black.
The plastron is basically cream to yellow with dark brown to black edges to the scutes.
As snake-necked turtles mature, the edges of their shells become upturned and their heads become broader.
FACTS:
Snake-necked turtles can somewhat match the color of their background by lightening or darkening their skin.
YOUNG:
Snake-necked turtles breed in September and October and lay 6-24 eggs in November and December. Young are black to dark gray with orange spots on each scute on the side of the carapace and on each belly scute. They have a curved yellow orange mark on their chin and a broad yellow to orange stripe from their mouth to the ventral side of the neck.
STATUS:
Not threatened.
REFERENCE:
Turtles of the World, Carl H. Ernst and Roger W. Barbour
Australian Freshwater Turtles, John Cann
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