Observations on Australian Humpback Dolphins (Sousa sahulensis) in Waters of the Pacific Islands and New Guinea.

The Australian humpback dolphin, Sousa sahulensis, has recently been described to occur in northern Australian coastal waters. However, its distribution in adjacent waters of the Pacific Islands and New Guinea remains largely unknown. Although there have been few studies conducted on inshore dolphins in these regions, the available information records humpback dolphins primarily from the Kikori Delta in Papua New Guinea, and Bird's Head Seascape in West Papua. Research in southern Papua New Guinea indicates that humpback dolphins are indeed S. sahulensis, based on cranial and external morphometrics, external colouration and the preliminary genetic analysis presented here. A similar situation exists for the Australian snubfin dolphin, Orcaella heinsohni, where it is assumed that the species also occurs along the Sahul Shelf coastal waters of northern Australia and New Guinea. There are anecdotal reports of direct catch of Australian humpback dolphins for use as shark bait, coastal development is increasing, and anthropogenic impacts will continue to escalate as human populations expand into previously uninhabited regions. Future research and management priorities for the Governments of the Pacific Islands and Indonesia will need to focus on inshore dolphins in known regional hotspots, as current bycatch levels appear unsustainable.

A new species and subgenus of Elseya (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae) from New Guinea.

The New Guinea freshwater turtle, Elseya novaeguineae (senu lato) is a long-term, widespread resident of New Guinea and has been subject to substantial vicariance in one of the most geologically dynamic regions on earth. Thus, it should come as no surprise that the taxonomy of this turtle is poorly resolved. Elseya novaeguineae has long been recognized as a species complex, though which elements of this taxon warrant recognition as separate species has been debated. In this paper, we restrict Elseya novaeguineae to the Birds Head region of New Guinea, west of the Langguru Thrust and Fold Belt; we resurrect from synonymy Elseya schultzei for the populations north of the Central Ranges; and we describe a new species for the populations to the south of the Central Ranges. We revisit the classification of the genus Elseya throughout its range in the light of our work and recently published reports, and erect three subgenera that recognize the three major clades within this genus. Subgenus Elseya is the nominate subgenus, to which we assign Elseya dentata, E. branderhorsti and undescribed E. sp. aff. dentata [Sth Alligator]. Elseya novaeguineae, E. schultzei and our new species are assigned to a new subgenus, Hanwarachelys. Species of northern and eastern Queensland, E. albagula, E. irwini, E. lavarackorum and the fossil taxa E. uberrima and E. nadibajagu, are assigned to subgenus Pelocomastes, resurrected from synonymy.