Emydura macquarii
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
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.
The generic name, Emydura, is derived from the Greek emys (freshwater turtle) and the Greek oura (tail), Latinized to ura. Its grammatical gender is feminine. The specific epithet, macquarii, refers to the turtle's type locality: the Macquarie River. It would seem that the species was not named after Governor Lachlan Macquarie, for whom the river is named.
The species' common names include Murray River turtle, Macquarie River turtle, eastern short-necked turtle, eastern short-neck turtle, and southern river turtle. The subspecific name, emmotti, is in honour of Australian farmer and naturalist Angus Emmott (born 1962).
The subspecific name, krefftii, is in honour of German-born Australian naturalist Gerard Krefft. A species formerly thought to be a separate species, the Bellinger... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hunter River Short-necked Turtle sighting in Melbourne on a given day, based on 377 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 6th most-seen of the 23 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Hunter River Short-necked Turtle in Melbourne on a given day, against under 5% in May to July, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hunter River Short-necked Turtle sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Hunter River Short-necked Turtle sightings, Melbourne ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Brisbane (Australia, about 30%) and Sydney (Australia, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hunter River Short-necked Turtle is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Melbourne (377 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
