The Roti Island Snake-necked Turtle (Chelodina mccordi) is a special species here at the Turtle Conservancy as it was described in 1994 by Turtle Conservancy Board Chairman, Anders Rhodin. The unique species belongs to the family Chelidae and the suborder Pleurodira. Unlike their counterpart the Cryptodirans, Pleurodirans have the interesting trait of not being able to tuck their head and neck inside their shells. Instead, the turtles of this family withdraw their typically extremely long necks along the side of their body.
