Elseya irwini
Encyclopedia
Irwin's turtle is a species of Australia
n turtle
. The female of the species has a pale head with a yellowish horny sheath on the crown.
It was named after its 'co-discoverer', famed zoologist and TV personality, Steve Irwin
. Steve Irwin's father, Bob Irwin
, first caught the animal on a fishing line during a family camp trip in 1997. They never had seen it before. Steve Irwin took pictures and sent them to turtle-expert John Cann who verified that it was indeed a new species.
This species of turtle, like some other turtles, can breathe underwater by taking water into its cloaca
. A chamber with gill
-like structures situated in the cloaca extracts oxygen; this enables the turtle to stay underwater for long periods without taking a breath.
because of plans to build the Urunnah dam in far north Queensland
.
The government of
Queensland
has now backed away from the building proposal, saying “there are no current plans to build the Urannah Dam”.
The animal only lives in the Broken-Bowen River system and the lower Burdekin River, the area where the dam will be built.
Ecologist Dr Ivan Lawler, from James Cook University
's School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, states that there are around 4000 to 5000 examples left in the wild today. Researchers from the university have caught 82 turtles of which only five had been juveniles. This may indicate a threat to the future of the species; when the older generation dies, there may not be enough young to replace them.
Another curious fact is that there were only 5 males among the 77 adults caught, making the Elseya irwini the most female-biased turtle population known.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
. The female of the species has a pale head with a yellowish horny sheath on the crown.
It was named after its 'co-discoverer', famed zoologist and TV personality, Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin
Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin , nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted...
. Steve Irwin's father, Bob Irwin
Bob Irwin
Robert "Bob" Irwin is an Australian naturalist, animal conservationist, and a pioneering herpetologist who is also famous for his conservation and husbandry work with apex predators and reptiles...
, first caught the animal on a fishing line during a family camp trip in 1997. They never had seen it before. Steve Irwin took pictures and sent them to turtle-expert John Cann who verified that it was indeed a new species.
This species of turtle, like some other turtles, can breathe underwater by taking water into its cloaca
Cloaca
In zoological anatomy, a cloaca is the posterior opening that serves as the only such opening for the intestinal, reproductive, and urinary tracts of certain animal species...
. A chamber with gill
Gill
A gill is a respiratory organ found in many aquatic organisms that extracts dissolved oxygen from water, afterward excreting carbon dioxide. The gills of some species such as hermit crabs have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are kept moist...
-like structures situated in the cloaca extracts oxygen; this enables the turtle to stay underwater for long periods without taking a breath.
Possibility of extinction
The Elseya irwini is named as a species facing extinctionExtinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
because of plans to build the Urunnah dam in far north Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
.
The government of
Government of Queensland
The Government of Queensland is commonly known as the "Queensland Government".The form of the Government of Queensland is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1859, although it has been amended many times since then...
Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
has now backed away from the building proposal, saying “there are no current plans to build the Urannah Dam”.
The animal only lives in the Broken-Bowen River system and the lower Burdekin River, the area where the dam will be built.
Ecologist Dr Ivan Lawler, from James Cook University
James Cook University
James Cook University is a public university based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The university has two Australian campuses, located in Townsville and Cairns respectively, and an international campus in Singapore. JCU is the second oldest university in Queensland—proclaimed in 1970—and the...
's School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, states that there are around 4000 to 5000 examples left in the wild today. Researchers from the university have caught 82 turtles of which only five had been juveniles. This may indicate a threat to the future of the species; when the older generation dies, there may not be enough young to replace them.
Another curious fact is that there were only 5 males among the 77 adults caught, making the Elseya irwini the most female-biased turtle population known.
