NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Northern Australian Snapping Turtle
Myuchelys latisternum (Gray, 1867)
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.
Saw-shelled turtle (Myuchelys latisternum), juvenile, Daintree rainforest, QLD, Australia
Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The saw-shelled turtle (Myuchelys latisternum) is a species of turtle in the Chelidae family endemic to Australia, ranging along rivers and streams and connected swamps and lagoons from coastal Cape York Peninsula to northern New South Wales, with populations also noted as far south as Newcastle - (Williams River Catchment site of the former Tilligra Dam). They are thought to have been introduced to Lake Eacham in the Atherton Tablelands. Other common English names are: serrated snapping turtle or common sawshell turtle.
Wikipedia contributors, Saw-shelled turtle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:15:01.134525+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Myuchelys latisternum (Gray, 1867)
- Name authority
- (Gray, 1867)
- Common name
- Northern Australian Snapping Turtle
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Testudines
- Family
- Chelidae
- Genus
- Myuchelys
- 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
- genusMyuchelys
- speciesMyuchelys latisternum (Gray, 1867)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Myuchelys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Bells’ TurtleMyuchelys bellii (Gray, 1844) | ChelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bellinger River TurtleMyuchelys georgesi (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 |
|---|---|
| Elseya latisternum Gray, 1867 Gray, 1867 | synonym |
| Emydura signata Ahl, 1932 Ahl, 1932 | ambiguous synonym |
| Wollumbinia dorsii Wells, 2009 Wells, 2009 | synonym |
| Euchelymys spinosa Gray, 1871 Gray, 1871 | 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=Myuchelys&species=latisternum 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:45GT6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.