Queensland lungfish

The Queensland lungfish, Neoceratodus forsteri (also known as the Australian lungfish, Burnett salmon, and barramunda), is the sole surviving member of the family Ceratodontidae and order Ceratodontiformes. It is one of only six extant lungfish species in the world. Endemic to Australia, the Ceratodontidae are an ancient family belonging to the subclass Sarcopterygii, or fleshy-finned fishes.

Fossil records of this group date back 380 million years, around the time when the higher vertebrate classes were beginning to evolve. Fossils of lungfish almost identical to this species have been uncovered in northern New South Wales, indicating that Neoceratodus has remained virtually unchanged for well over 100 million years, making it a living fossil and one of the oldest living vertebrate genera on the planet.

It is one of six extant representatives of the ancient air-breathing Dipnoi (lungfishes) that flourished during the Devonian period (about 413–365 million years ago) and is the most primitive surviving member of this lineage. The five other freshwater lungfish species, four in Africa and one in South America, are very different morphologically from N. forsteri. The Queensland lungfish can live for several days out of the water, if it is kept moist, but will not survive total water depletion, unlike its African counterparts.

Queensland

Queensland (abbreviated as Qld) is the second-largest and third-most-populous state in Australia. Situated in the north-east of the country, 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. Queensland has a population of 4,750,500, concentrated along the coast and particularly in the state's South East. The state is the world's sixth largest sub-national entity, with an area of 1,852,642 km². The capital and largest city in the state is Brisbane, Australia's third largest city. Often referred to as the "Sunshine State", Queensland is home to 10 of Australia's 30 largest cities and is the nation's third largest economy.

Queensland was first inhabited by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. The first European to land in Queensland (and Australia) was Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1606, who explored the west coast of the Cape York Peninsula near present-day Weipa. In 1770, Lieutenant James Cook claimed the east coast of Australia for the Kingdom of Great Britain. The colony of New South Wales was founded in 1788 by Governor Arthur Phillip at Sydney; New South Wales at that time included all of what is now Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania. Queensland was explored in subsequent decades until the establishment of a penal colony at Brisbane in 1824 by John Oxley. Penal transportation ceased in 1839 and free settlement was allowed from 1842.

Mary River

Mary River may refer to:

See also

Central American river turtle

The Central American river turtle (Dermatemys mawii) also known locally as the "hickatee" or tortuga blanca (white turtle) is the only living species in the family Dermatemydidae. Its closest relatives are only known from fossils with some 19 genera described from a worldwide distribution from the Jurassic and Cretaceous. The species is currently found in the Atlantic drainages of the Central American countries of southern Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. It is a relatively large species with historical records of 60 cm (24 in) and weights of 22 kg (49 lb) however more recent records have found few individuals over 14 kg (31 lb) in Mexico or 11 kg (24 lb) in Guatemala.

It has a low, flattened, smooth carapace with a median keel present in juveniles, it is usually a uniform brown, almost black, gray or olive in color. The plastron is usually white to yellow though may be acquire substrate staining in some areas. In the juvenile, a distinctive keel is found down the center of the carapace, and the outer edges have serrations. These features are lost as the turtle ages. Its skin is predominantly the same color as the shell, with reddish or peach-colored markings around the neck and underside. Males can be differentiated from females by yellow markings on either side of their heads, and longer, thicker tails. It is a nocturnal, completely aquatic turtle that lives in Atlantic draining larger rivers and lakes in Central America, from southern Mexico to the Guatemalan Honduran border. The species is entirely aquatic and does not bask or leave the water, except to lay eggs. The species is also entirely herbivorous eating figs and flowers opportunistically but the majority of the diet are the leaves of terrestrial trees.

Mary River turtle

The Mary River turtle, Elusor macrurus, is an endangered short-necked turtle that is endemic to the Mary River in south-east Queensland, Australia.

Taxonomy

The Mary River turtle was first formally described in 1994. Elusor is a monotypic genus representing a very old lineage of turtles that has all but disappeared from the evolutionary history of Australia.

Description

The Mary River turtle is one of Australia's largest turtles. Specimens in excess of 50 cm in carapace length have been recorded. Hatchlings have a straight carapace length of 2.0–3.5 cm. Adult Mary River turtles have an elongated, streamlined carapace that can be plain in colour or intricately patterned. Overall colour can vary from rusty red to brown and almost black. The plastron varies from cream to pale pink. The skin colouration is similar to that of the shell and often has salmon pink present on the tail and limbs. The iris can be pale blue. Mary River turtles use bimodal respiration, so are capable of absorbing oxygen via the cloaca whilst under water. However, they do regularly come to the surface to breathe air in the usual way.