Western swamp turtle  (Pseudemydura umbrina)

Endemic to Western Australia, this turtle has probably never been very abundant. First discovered in 1839, the species was believed to be extinct until a Perth schoolboy 'rediscovered' the turtle in 1953 (6). At this time the species was restricted to a narrow region of the Swan Coastal Plain near Perth in Western Australia, and today it is found only in two protected sites at the edge of the city: Ellen Brook Nature Reserve, and an introduced population at Twin Swamps (2).

The western swamp turtle inhabits shallow, temporary swamps that are only available after the autumn rains, and which occur on clay or sand-over-clay soils (4).