Turtle gets new name as researchers discover mistaken identity
WedWednesday 9
DecDecember 2020 at 7:12pm
The freshwater turtle has distinctive features such as a horny sheath on top of its head.
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A turtle commonly found in northern Australia has been given a new name because it turns out it was not actually the turtle everyone thought it was.
Key points:
Elseya lavarackorum in 1997 after being compared to a fossil
Researchers have found seven differences with the modern turtle, now categorising it as its own species
Elseya oneiros
The commonly known Gulf snapping turtle was classified as
Elseya lavarackorum in 1997 after being compared to a fossil on Riversleigh Station in north-west Queensland.