NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Murray River Turtle
Emydura macquarii (Gray, 1830)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
A pair of Macquarie Turtles, (Emydura macquarii) on a log at Warrawong sanctuary - near Mylor in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Peripitus · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Emydura macquarii, also known as the Murray River turtle, Macquarie River turtle, eastern short-necked turtle, eastern short-neck turtle, and southern river turtle, is a species of freshwater turtle in the family Chelidae. Named after the Macquarie River of New South Wales, the turtle is a wide-ranging species that occurs throughout many of the rivers of the eastern half of Australia.
Wikipedia contributors, Emydura macquarii; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:24:54.826470+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Emydura macquarii (Gray, 1830)
- Name authority
- (Gray, 1830)
- Common name
- Murray River Turtle
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Testudines
- Family
- Chelidae
- Genus
- Emydura
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderTestudines Batsch, 1788
- suborderPleurodira Cope, 1864
- superfamilyCheloidea Gray, 1825
- familyChelidae
- genusEmydura
- speciesEmydura macquarii (Gray, 1830)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Emydura. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Red-bellied Short-necked TurtleEmydura subglobosa (Krefft, 1876) | ChelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Emydura gunaleni Smales, Mccord, Cann & Joseph-Ouni, 2019 | ChelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Northern Yellow-faced TurtleEmydura tanybaraga Cann, 1997 | ChelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Emys macquaria Cuvier, 1829 Cuvier, 1829 | synonym |
| Emydura macquarii dharra Cann, 1998 Cann, 1998 | synonym |
| Emydura macquarii gunnabarra Cann, 1998 Cann, 1998 | synonym |
| Chelymys cooki Wells & Wellington, 1985 Wells & Wellington, 1985 | synonym |
| Emydura signata Ahl, 1932 Ahl, 1932 | ambiguous synonym |
| Euchelymys sulcifera Gray, 1871 Gray, 1871 | synonym |
| Chelymys krefftii Gray, 1871 Gray, 1871 | synonym |
| Chelymys victoriae var. marmorata Gray, 1872 Gray, 1872 | synonym |
| Chelymys victoriae var. sulcata Gray, 1872 Gray, 1872 | synonym |
| Emydura canni Worrell, 1970 Worrell, 1970 | synonym |
| Tropicochelymys insularis Wells & Wellington, 1985 Wells & Wellington, 1985 | synonym |
| Emydura macquarii binjing Cann, 1998 Cann, 1998 | synonym |
| Emydura macquarii dharuk Cann, 1998 Cann, 1998 | synonym |
| Chelymys johncanni Wells & Wellington, 1985 Wells & Wellington, 1985 | synonym |
| Chelymys windorah Wells & Wellington, 1985 Wells & Wellington, 1985 | synonym |
| Chelys (Hydraspis) macquarii Gray, 1830 Gray, 1830 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Emydura&species=macquarii Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:39LSX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.