09/10/2026
THIS TURTLE CAN LOOK LIKE A TINY FLOATING ISLAND WITH A GREEN MOHAWK. 🐢
Meet the Mary River turtle, Elusor macrurus.
It naturally exists only in the Mary River system of southeastern Queensland, Australia.
Some individuals grow strands of algae across their heads and shells, creating the famous "punk rock turtle" appearance.
But its biology is even stranger.
Specialized structures called cloacal bursae allow it to absorb oxygen directly from the water.
It still breathes with lungs, but this extra respiratory system can help it remain submerged for extremely long periods, reportedly up to about 72 hours under suitable conditions.
Its evolutionary history is extraordinary too.
The Mary River turtle is the only species in its genus, and its lineage diverged from other living turtles roughly 40 million years ago.
Yet humans nearly devastated it before science even formally described it.
During the 1960s and 1970s, thousands of eggs were collected for the pet trade and hatchlings were sold as "penny turtles."
The species was not formally described until 1994.
Australian assessments estimate about 12,000 eggs were harvested between 1962 and 1974, contributing to enormous population declines.
Today, Australia lists the Mary River turtle as Critically Endangered.
Predators, poor recruitment, habitat degradation, dams, altered river conditions and climate-related impacts continue to threaten it.
After surviving around 40 million years as a distinct evolutionary lineage, its future now depends heavily on protecting one river system.
Would you have guessed something that looks like a moss-covered rock could be one of Australia's most extraordinary reptiles?