Rote Island snake-necked turtle (Chelodina mccordi)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 202521753

Genetic screening of the European captive population of Roti island snake-necked turtle (Chelodina mccordi) for future reintroduction.

The long-term goal is to re-establish a genetically and demographically viable population of the Roti Island snake-necked turtle on Roti Island in Indonesia. A genetic screening of the European captive population needs to be done to verify which of the two subspecies (Chelodina mccordi mccordi & Chelodina mccordi timorensis) is kept in Europe. This to ensure that only specimens that represent Chelodina mccordi mccordi is sent to the repatriation project on Roti island. We estimate that approximately 150-200 samples need to be taken to get a good overview of the entire captive population. The genetic screening will also be used for hybrid screening and pedigree reconstruction providing innovation in the studbook.