Broad-Shelled Snake-Necked Turtle (Chelodina Expansa)
Conservation status
IUCN: Red List: Least Concern
Key Descriptions
With its serpentine neck & broad oval shaped shell, the Broad Shelled Snake Necked turtle is remarkably unique among its turtle cousins. Endemic to South – Eastern Australia, these turtles can tuck its neck & head under the edge of its carapace as a defensive posture. With a relatively flattened appearance & clawed, webbed feet adapted to swimming in freshwater bodies, these snake necked turtles are ambush predators who will lunge at prey with their long necks, a strategy highly adapted to its deceptive hunting nature.
Habitat
They can be found in the rivers in South-Eastern Australia, They spend majority of their lives in water.
Social Life
They are mainly solitary animals, that ambush their prey, and only interact during mating season.
Fun Facts
- Did you know that this turtle’s long neck can add 80% to its body length, aiding in its deception strategy for ambush hunting?
- The snake-necked turtle can grow up to 11 inches (28 centimeters), and its neck can be more than half the length of its shell. Males are typically smaller than females and have longer, thinner tails.
- The female turtle constructs a nest by excavating a nesting chamber with her hind legs to a depth of around 20 cm. She then deposits between 5 and 28 eggs before backfilling the nest with soil. The broad-shelled river turtle has shown a ‘body-slamming’ type behaviour when compacting nests.
Diet
Fish & other small aquatic animals
Key Information
| Origin: | Papua New Guinea |
| Size: | Up to 5Ocm |
| Weight: | – |
| Lifespan: | Up to 40years |