Tingamarra Soft-shelled Turtle

  • Updated
    17/07/20
  • Read time
    2 minutes
Tingamarra Soft-shelled Turtle Click to enlarge image
The Tingamarra Soft-shelled Turtle belongs to a group of turtles called trionychids, which have flexible shells. It lived around swampy lakes, eating snakes, frogs, fish and crayfish - and it could swim fast in pursuit of its prey. Image: Dr Anne Musser
© Australian Museum

Fast Facts

  • Size Range
    Length: 50cm (shell only)

Lived

55 million years ago, early Eocene.

Description

The Tingamarra Soft-shelled Turtle belongs to a group of turtles called trionychids, which have flexible shells. It lived around swampy lakes, eating snakes, frogs, fish and crayfish - and it could swim fast in pursuit of its prey.

Soft-shelled turtles died out in Australia in the Pleistocene, around 40,000 years ago. The Tingamarra Soft-shelled Turtle's closest living relatives include the Elegant Soft-shelled Turtle, Cyclanorbis elegans of South Africa.

Fossils

Fossils of the Tingamarra Soft-shelled Turtle, including a complete shell, have been found at Murgon in south-eastern Queensland.

Did you know?

Living relatives of the Tingamarra Soft-shelled Turtle spend much of their time underwater, wedged between logs or rocks and patiently waiting for their prey.