Side-Neck & Snake-Neck Turtles
Fascinating chelonians from Africa, South America, and Australia — known for their unique sideways head retraction and striking personalities.
Side-necked turtles (Pleurodira) are one of the two modern groups of turtles and include about 76 species. The other main group of turtles, the hidden-necked turtles, consists of about 200 species.
Side-necked turtles are distinguished from hidden-necked turtles by the way they fold their neck into their shell. Side-necked turtles fold their neck and head sideways and tuck it under the edge of the shell closer to the shoulder so that the head and neck bend at an angle relative to the axis of the spine. Hidden-necked turtles, in contrast, retract their neck inwards along the axis of the spine, curving it in an S shape along the spinal plane so that their head moves directly into the shell.
Side-necked turtles also differ from hidden-necked turtles in the structure of their carapace and plastron. The carapace and plastron of side-necked turtles are more oval in shape relative to those of the hidden-necked turtles, whose carapace and plastron are rounder in shape. Additionally, the bones and scutes take on different arrangements in the two clades of turtles.
Snake Neck Turtles (Chelodina) are a group of Side Necks with extremely long necks and long flattened heads. They are specialist fish eaters using a strike and gape mode of feeding.
They are native to Australia, New Guinea, the Indonesian Rote Island, and East Timor.
Interested in a Side-Neck or Snake-Neck Turtle?
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