Kingdom Animalia Suborder Pleurodira Subfamily Chelodininae Scientific name Chelodina colliei Higher classification Chelodina Order Turtle | Subphylum Vertebrata Family Chelidae Genus Chelodina Phylum Chordata Rank Species | |
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Similar Chelodina, Turtle, Northern snake‑necked turtle, Black spine‑neck swamp tu, Okavango mud turtle | ||
The southwestern snake-necked turtle, narrow-breasted snake-necked turtle or (based on the obsolete scientific name) oblong turtle (Chelodina (Macrodiremys) colliei) is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. It is endemic to the southwestern part of Western Australia.
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The species has been successfully bred in captivity in Cologne Zoological Garden.
Etymology
The specific name, colliei, is in honor of Scottish physician and naturalist Alexander Collie.
Taxonomic History
This species has a very complicated taxonomic history, involving many uses of the available names and a number of mistakes in that usage. In his original concept of the two species involved Gray 1841 and 1856 clearly diagnosed two species, one from northern and one from south western Australia. However these were considered a single wide ranging species by Boulenger 1889. This mistaken concept was followed for some time but was reviewed by Burbidge (1967) and followed by Goode (1967). Unfortunately they had mixed the names up as was brought out first by Thomson (2000) and has been summarised also by Kuchling (2010).
A submission to the ICZN was put in by Thomson (2006) to maintain the prevailing usage of Chelodina rugosa over the name Chelodina oblonga for the Northern snake-necked turtle with further comments by several authors. However, in 2013 the ICZN handed down its Opinion on the issue where they deemed that the Principle of Priority should be followed. As such the correct name for the Northern snake-necked turtle is Chelodina oblonga and for the South-western snake-necked turtle is Chelodina colliei. This has required considerable effort over the ensuing 12 months to establish this correct nomenclature. As part of this it is now seen as less than desirable to continue using the name Oblong Turtle for the South-western snake-necked turtle, since it is based on the scientific name of another species.