Murray short-necked turtle in 4K

Murray short-necked turtle, Emydura macquarii Also known as thukubi (Ngarrindjeri dictionary) The short-necked turtle is very abundant and common in open water, including lagoons and the mainstream of the river. Males grow to about 2.2 kg and females may sometimes exceed 4.0 kg. They are typically olive green or bronze in colour (Fig. 1) on the carapace and cream underneath. The shell can be stained or covered in green algae or mud. The neck is short relative to the other species. The plastron is narrow and does not cover the legs when they are retracted. Short-necked turtles sometimes bask on logs in the water, but otherwise they rarely come out of the water, except to nest. They probably nest close to where they normally live and usually within 50 m of the water’s edge. Nesting time in South Australia is usually from about the second week of November through to Christmas, with eggs taking 6-8 weeks to hatch. Some females lay two clutches of eggs in a season and the clutch size can be up to 30 eggs. Short-necked turtles are omnivorous, eating considerable plant material, as well as invertebrates. They are major consumers of dead animals, cleaning up dead fish and other animals in the water.