Eastern snake-necked turtle – kutukulung

What are eastern snake-necked turtles and what do they look like?

Eastern snake-necked turtles, also known as eastern long-necked turtles, are reptiles that have a hard shell, or carapace, covering their body. The shell grows up to 25 centimetres long and they have a long neck that is usually about half the length of their shell. The colour of the eastern snake-necked turtle's shell varies through different shades of cream, brown and black. The scales on their heads, neck, legs and feet are a brown-grey colour.

Eastern snake-necked turtles have webbed feet for swimming and sharp claws. The head and neck of the eastern snake-necked turtle bends sideways into its shell rather than directly back.

The scientific name of the eastern snake-necked turtle is Chelodina longicollis. The Darug name for the eastern snake-necked turtle kutukulung.

Eastern snake-necked turtles are also known as eastern long-necked turtles.

Where do eastern snake-necked turtles live?

Eastern snake-necked turtles are found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. They live in freshwater ecosystems such as wetlands, dams, rivers and lakes. Most of their time is spent in the water, however snake-necked turtles can move over land to find nesting areas, lay eggs or in search of a new waterhole. They will also come up to the surface of the water at the bank, or sit on a log or rock to bask in the sun.

Eastern snake-necked turtle basking on a log

What do eastern snake-necked turtles eat?

Eastern snake-necked turtles are carnivorous and eat aquatic invertebrates, tadpoles and fish.

How are eastern snake-necked turtles adapted to their environment?

Eastern snake-necked turtles have hard shells covering their body. When threatened by a predator the eastern snake-necked turtle bends its head and neck into its shell and releases a pungent odour to repel them.

These freshwater turtles also have webbed feet to help them move through the water, these as well as their streamlined shell make them very strong swimmers.

The sharp claws of snake-necked turtles allow them to climb up onto the banks of the river and dig holes to lay their eggs.

Eastern snake-necked turtles have nostrils on the very tip of their snout so that they can breathe at the surface of the water with the rest of their body submerged.

Webbed feet make eastern snake-necked turtles very good swimmers.

How do eastern snake-necked turtles reproduce and what is their life cycle?

At the start of summer female eastern snake-necked turtles walk up onto the bank of the river to find the perfect nesting site. They will dig a hole and lay up to 20 soft-shelled eggs, then cover them back over with dirt and head back to the water.

The hatchlings emerge around 3 months later and make their way to the water. An eastern snake-necked turtle hatchling is roughly the size of a 20 cent coin.

Female eastern snake-necked turtles dig a hole and lay their eggs in it.

What threats do eastern snake-necked turtles face?

Pollution is a major problem of aquatic environments. Chemicals such as petrol, oils, sewage and fertilisers impact the water quality of the eastern snake-necked turtle habitats and make it harder for them to live in and travel through.

Droughts are also a challenge, when there isn’t enough water it makes it harder for the turtles to move around and find food.

As eastern snake-necked turtles live in aquatic habitats, they are susceptible to the impacts of water pollution.

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Animals sharing freshwater food webs

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