Species Fact Profile: Red-Bellied Short-Necked Turtle (Emydura subglobosa)

                                Red-Bellied Short-Necked (Jardine River) Turtle

                                               Emydura subglobosa (Krefft, 1876)

Range: Coastal Australia, New Guinea

Habitat: Slow-Moving Rivers, Wetlands, Ponds

Diet: Algae, Aquatic Invertebrates, Fish

Social Grouping: Semi-Social

Reproduction: Breeding takes place year round, peaking in spring and fall.  Males court females with stroking, head-bobbing, squirting water from the nose.  Female digs nest cavity in sand or soil, laying 2-5 clutches of 7 eggs each per year.  No parental care.  Hatchlings mature at 7-12 years old (size dependent)

Lifespan: 15-20 Years

      Conservation Status: IUCN Least Concern 

• Body length 13-25 centimeters, weigh about 500 grams.  Females larger than males.  Males also differ from females in having longer tails.
• Olive green head with a yellow, cream-colored stripe running between the nose and eye, widening behind the eyes.  Yellow whiskers of the same color on the chin.  Limbs, tail, and plastron are marked with red (growing duller with age).  Carapace is grayish-brown, unpatterned
• Highly aquatic, rarely leaves the water except to bask, or when females are going to lay eggs
• Side-necked turtles, can't completely draw head into shell, but will tuck it in as best as they can.  Will defend themselves from predators, such as goannas, corvids, and crocodilians, with bites.  May release an unpleasant odor when handled.
• Genus name from the Greek for a freshwater turtle, species name means "imperfectly globe-shaped"