Weird Aussie turtle is on endangered species list
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Boasting a green, punk hairdo and the unusual ability to breathe through its backside, an Australian turtle has become famous overnight 鈥 but not only for its eccentricity.
Unfortunately, just as many of us are discovering the Mary River Turtle鈥檚 tantalizing traits, it has become the latest creature to join the 鈥淓DGE of Existence鈥 list of endangered species compiled by the Zoological Society of London.
A native of Queensland, Australia, the turtle was one of 100 reptiles added to the catalog this week.
It lives only in the Mary River from which it took its name.
The inventory has no shortage of weird and wonderful creatures 鈥 a limbless lizard, the world鈥檚 largest sea turtle, a blind snake, and a chameleon named after Tarzan.
But the Mary River Turtle might just be the strangest of them all.
鈥淭he turtle is highly distinctive,鈥 states a ZSL description of the species known to scientists as Elusor macrurus.
It can breathe underwater through specialized glands in butt organs known as cloaca 鈥 orifices through which the turtle excretes urine and waste, and lays eggs.
鈥淭his turtle is able to spend so much time underwater 鈥 up to three days 鈥 without coming up for air due to its strange ability to breathe through its bum,鈥 Rikki Gumbs of Imperial College London said.
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