A new species and subgenus of Elseya (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae) from New Guinea
Author
Thomson, Scott
Author
Amepou, Yolarnie
Author
Anamiato, Jim
Author
Georges, Arthur
text
Zootaxa
2015
4006
1
59
82
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.4006.1.3
a73584b0-b729-482f-b91f-f0a42bb25591
1175-5326
289264
14516538-9B91-4363-9541-0AF373F9B614
Elseya
(
Hanwarachelys
)
schultzei
(
Vogt 1911: 410
)
(
Figure 6–7
)
Northern New
Guinea
Stream Turtle
1911
Emydura
schultzei—
Vogt 1911
:410
2000
Elseya
schultzei—
Samedi and
Iskandar 2000
:111
2010
Myuchelys novaeguineae
—
Georges and Thomson 2010
:29
2010
Elseya novaeguineae
—
Rhodin et al. 2010
:131
2015
Elseya
(
Hanwarachelys
)
schultzei
resurrected, Thomson et al. this study
Type
data
: Holotype—ZMB 22182 collected near Sae village, Seko coast, near Skosai, ca
5 km
W. mouth of Tami River,
Papua
,
Indonesia
(2˚37'S,140˚54'E), restricted this study.
Diagnosis
—Eyes typically green in the sclera with a bright gold iris which is distinct. Head shield entire, extending down the parietal arches to broadly contact the tympanum. Head shield narrower than in
Elseya novaeguineae
but wider than in
E
.
rhodini
. No contact between the vomer and the pterygoids of the skull, distinguishing the species from
E
.
rhodini
.
Distribution
—Streams draining into the rivers of New
Guinea
north of the central ranges—i.e. not including the Vogelkopf and Bomberai peninsulas (Birds Head)—and east to at least Madang.
Collection History
—
This taxon was described by
Vogt (1911)
based on a single specimen collected by Leonhard Schultze in an unnamed river west of the Tami River in northeastern
Papua
,
Indonesia
(
type
locality “Fluss westlich der Tamimündung” [river west of the mouth of the Tami]). Although it is impossible to give a precise locality,
Schultze (1914)
gave an account of his travels and a detailed map from which one can deduce that the
type
specimen was probably collected near Sae village, Seko coast, near Skosai, ca
5 km
W. mouth of Tami River,
Papua
,
Indonesia
(2˚37'S,140˚54'E); and the
type
locality is hereby so restricted. The
holotype
is in the Berlin collection (ZMB 22182, figured by
Goode 1967
). When described,
Emydura schultzei
was compared to and distinguished from a specimen of “
Emydura macquariae
” (ZMB 22210, figured by
Goode 1967
:67) from the upper Sepik River basin south of the headwaters of the Tami River, near the Indonesia-Papua New
Guinea
border. The species was recognized as distinct until synonymized with
E
.
novaeguineae
by
Goode (1967)
. That
E. schultzei
represents a distinct taxa has been confirmed by recent genetic studies (Georges
et al.
2014). Therefore we remove this species from the synonymy of
Elseya novaeguineae
recognizing it as a valid taxon.