Elected representatives in government are in charge of the policy and funding that can make or break saving threatened species. Their decisions and actions matter.
Capricornia has or used to have 31 threatened animals within its boundaries. One of them is me, the Fitzroy River Turtle.
We took care to attach appropriate images that are as close to representative of each species as our resources and the availability of images allowed. However, we could not ensure perfect accuracy in every case. Some images show species that share the same genus but not at the species or subspecies level.
Fitzroy River Turtle
Rheodytes leukops
Status: Vulnerable
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) lists threatened species under six categories:
Extinct, Extinct in the wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Conservation dependent. Read more about these categories
Rheodytes leukops is found across 3 electorates.
The Fitzroy River Turtle is a medium to dark brown turtle growing to 25 cm SL with scattered darker spots and blotches on the upper shell surface. It has a pale yellow or cream belly and dull olive-grey exposed fleshy parts. The shell is broadly oval and the neck is covered with large, pointed conical tubercles. The back edge of the shell on hatchlings is serrated. The Fitzroy River Turtle has distinctive eyes with black pupils surrounded by a narrow white inner ring or a metallic silvery-blue iris. The Fitzroy River Turtle has relatively long forelimbs with five long claws and a large cloacal bursae which has a respiratory function.¹
Explore more about this species on the Atlas of Living Australia
Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation
Explore more about the threats facing species on our Resources page.
- Aristida annua (Aristida annua)
- Hairy-joint Grass (Arthraxon hispidus)
- Bertya opponens (Bertya opponens)
- Three-leaved Bosistoa (Bosistoa transversa)
- Miniature Moss-orchid (Bulbophyllum globuliforme)
- Ooline (Cadellia pentastylis)
- Capparis thozetiana (Capparis thozetiana)
- Byfield Matchstick (Comesperma oblongatum)
- Corymbia clandestina (Corymbia clandestina)
- Glen Geddes Bloodwood (Corymbia xanthope)
- Cycas ophiolitica (Cycas ophiolitica)
- Daviesia discolor (Daviesia discolor)
- King Blue-grass (Dichanthium queenslandicum)
- Bluegrass (Dichanthium setosum)
- Salt Pipewort (Eriocaulon carsonii)
- Blue Devil (Eryngium fontanum)
- Black Ironbox (Eucalyptus raveretiana)
- Holly-leaved Graptophyllum (Graptophyllum ilicifolium)
- Three-veined Hakea (Hakea trineura)
- Waxy Cabbage Palm (Livistona lanuginosa)
- Marsdenia brevifolia (Marsdenia brevifolia)
- Neisosperma kilneri (Neisosperma kilneri)
- Neoroepera buxifolia (Neoroepera buxifolia)
- Omphalea celata (Omphalea celata)
- Ozothamnus eriocephalus (Ozothamnus eriocephalus)
- Mt Larcom Silk Pod (Parsonsia larcomensis)
- Lesser Swamp-orchid (Phaius australis)
- Pimelea leptospermoides (Pimelea leptospermoides)
- Pultenaea setulosa (Pultenaea setulosa)
- Quassia (Samadera bidwillii)
- Granite Nightshade (Solanum graniticum)
- Capella Potato Bush (Solanum orgadophilum)
- a grass (Sporobolus pamelae)
- Tectaria devexa (Tectaria devexa)
You are in federal electorate Capricornia.