Mary River Turtle, Elusor macrurus Suffers From Dry Weather
It is well known that the environment determines whether or not turtle eggs will survive. Well, a too dry environment begets dehydratation which will results in the death of the eggs. This is exactly what happemed to many Mary River turtle eggs unfortunately. About 470 hatchlings emerged from protected nests this year. That is a third less than last year but last year was also above the average. They usually expect around 900 hatchling. 2015 led to 87 clutches while this tear led to 60 clutches because of the dry weather.
Turtle News From Around the World
Conservation
Another endangered sea turtle was killed at Savannah Harbor
Death of sea turtles raise alarms in Malaysia
Ecology
Emergence of desert tortoise indicatse Springtime
Did You Know…
Like a few other turtle species, Elusor macrurus have a very developed cloacal breathing system that allows them to extract oxygen from the water through the surface of the cloaca
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Photo from fraser coast chronicle.
