(CNN) An Australian river turtle with a distinctive green punk-rock hairstyle, two spikes under its chin and the ability to breathe through its genitals is on a new list of endangered reptiles.

The Mary River turtle, native to Queensland, Australia, has the unusual ability to breathe underwater through specialized glands in its cloaca -- a posterior opening for excretion and reproduction.

This biological function allows the turtle -- referred to as a "butt breather" -- to stay underwater for up to three days. That ability also usually provides these turtles with a vibrant green mohawk, the result of algae growing on their heads because of the extended time spent submerged.

Rikki Gumbs, a reptile biologist at Zoological Society London (ZSL), told CNN that because of the exotic pet trade in the 1960s and '70s, the turtles were often kept as pets and were already at risk of being endangered when they were first recognized as a species in the 1990s.

"The turtle takes a long time to reach sexual maturity, taking up to 25 to 30 years," he said. "As their vulnerability was discovered late, we lost a whole generation due to the pet trade and now their population has become very small."

The turtle can stay underwater for three days.

Read More</s>Mary River turtles, also known as the 'penny turtle', are a freshwater turtle that's indigenous to the Mary River, which is in southeast Queensland, Australia.

It was first identified by scientists in 1994 but has quickly become one of the world's most endangered species.

This, despite the fact that it was a popular pet in the 1960s and 1970s.

The short-necked turtle is quite large, with some adult specimens growing to be more than 50cm.

One of the Mary River turtle's most outstanding features is its Mohican-like hairdo that's actually just green algae.

It also has long fleshy barbels, or feelers, under its chin.

But perhaps one of its most distinctive features is that it breathes through its genitals.

The Mary River turtle is able to breathe through its bum thanks to gill-like organs in its cloaca.

The cloaca is used for both excretion and mating.

This enables the Mary River turtle to breathe under water for up to three days at a time.

Little else is known about the species' ecology and behavior, aside from its appetite.

The Mary River turtle is omnivorous, feasting on plant matter like algae, mollusks and other small creatures.</s>A punk turtle with a green mohican and highly unconventional lifestyle is the star attraction on the Zoological Society of London's new list of endangered reptiles.

The Mary River turtle has a head crowned by vertical strands of algae that also grow on its body. In addition, it sports face furniture in the form of long fleshy barbels under its chin.

However, perhaps the Mary River turtle's most unusual feature is its ability to breath through its genitals.

The turtle has gill-like organs within its cloaca - a multi-purpose orifice used by reptiles for excretion and mating - that allow it to stay underwater for up to three days.

The turtle, which measures up to 40 cm, lives in just one location - the Mary River in Queensland, Australia.

Its docile nature - more hippy than punk - historically made it a popular pet. In the 1960s and 1970s its nest sites were mercilessly pillaged for the pet trade.

Today, the Mary River turtle is one of the world's most endangered turtle species.

The turtle is just one of many weird and wonderful species featured in the Zoological Society of London Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (Edge) Reptiles list.

The Edge programme uses a complex formula to award a threat score to unusual species at risk of extinction.</s>Australia's Mary River Turtle - with its green Mohican-style hair and ability to breathe through its genitals - is one of the world's most distinctive reptiles.

But it is also now officially among the most endangered reptiles in the world, ranked the 29th most likely to go extinct by the Zoological Society of London.

Australia has no plan to save the unique animal despite its extreme vulnerability and no known government money is allocated to its conservation.

Named after the river it inhabits that runs through the Sunshine Coast, the turtle gets its distinctive look from green algae growing on its head and body.

The reptile also has unmissable long fleshy growths under its chin and can breathe through its genitals.

Gill-like organs within its cloaca, an orifice with the double use of mating and excretion, allow it to stay underwater for up to three days.

The 40cm-long turtle's path to becoming endangered was helped by its popularity as a pet in the 1960s-70s that led to its nests being pillaged.

Conservationists and reptile scientists called for the Mary River turtle to be officially protected under Australian law.

'You have to go back about 50 million years to find a closely related species,' said Marilyn Connell, a researcher at Australia's Charles Darwin University.

'It would be a failure if we let this animal that walked alongside dinosaurs become extinct.'

The exact population of the Mary River Turtle, known to biologists as Elusor macrurus, is unknown.

'Australia is one of the richest places in the world when it comes to reptile biodiversity, yet our federal government's threatened species strategy doesn't even include reptiles,' Australian Foundation policy analyst James Trezise said.

'It is an entire class of species missing from the current national recovery efforts.'

Academic research was hampered in 1974 when traders refused to reveal the habitat of what were then known as 'Penny Turtles' after Australia outlawed the practice of keeping them as pets.

Nearly 20 years later, John Cann, a Sydney-based turtle enthusiast, rediscovered the turtle in the Mary River in Queensland. It was classified as a new species.

The turtle's habitat is not fully protected, Cann said, and the introduction of new fish species to the waterway also threatened juvenile turtles.

'They survived in good numbers for millions of years. Then along came the pigs and foxes, and on top of the native predators and people - that's what has made them endangered,' he said.

Top of the list is one of the turtle's cousins, the Madagascan big-headed turtle (Erymnochelys madagascariensis), the most likely to die out of any amphibian, bird or mammal.

Other stand-out species on the reptiles list include the Round Island keel-scaled boa from Mauritius (casarea dussumieri), that can change colour and is the only vertebrate known to have a hinged upper jaw,

Also high on the list is the Minute Leaf chameleon (Brookesia minima), from Madagascar, which measures just three centimetres, and the Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), a slender-snouted fish-eating crocodile.</s>Australia's Mary River turtle, known as the 'punk turtle', is now officially on the endangered species list.

The turtle, with its green mohawk, is one of the world's most distinctive reptiles.

This week it ranked 29 on the Zoological Society of London's evolutionary distinct and globally endangered list.

The turtle's placement on the list has triggered calls for better protection of the turtle.

A Sydney-based turtle enthusiast found the Mary River turtle in a discovery that led to it being classified as a new species.

"They survived for millions of years with their numbers quite good but along come the...fox and the pigs. Coupling them on top of the native predators and people, that's what made them endangered now. This is not only from the Mary River, this is right through eastern Australia," John Cann, turtle enthusiast, said.

According to the Zoological Society of London, the 'punk turtle' was once a popular pet in Australia; the exact population of the Mary River turtle is unknown.</s>With a plume or fluorescent green hair, you might mistake this turtle as a puppet from The Muppets.

But the turtle is very much real, and worryingly, it has just been added to the Zoological Society of London’s Endangered List.

The creature is a Mary River turtle - a bizarre species that can stay underwater for up to three days by breathing through its genitals.

Mary River turtles can be found in south-east Queensland, Australia, and became popular pets in the 1960s and 1970s.

Unfortunately, this led to the species’ demise, and very few now remain in the wild.

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The Mary River turtle joins a host of other reptiles on the Endangered List, including the world’s largest sea turtle, the leatherback and the gharial, a freshwater crocodile once common across much of Asia but now confined to a handful of rivers in northern India and Nepal.

Rikki Gumbs, who co-ordinates the list, said: “Reptiles often receive the short end of the stick in conservation terms, compared with the likes of birds and mammals.

“However, the edge Reptile List highlights just how unique, vulnerable and amazing these creatures really are.

“From the world’s largest sea turtles to a blind species of snake found only in Madagascar, the diversity of edge Reptiles is breath-taking.”</s>A punk turtle with a green mohican and highly unconventional lifestyle is the star attraction on the Zoological Society of London's new list of endangered reptiles.

The Mary River turtle has a head crowned by vertical strands of algae that also grow on its body. In addition, it sports face furniture in the form of long fleshy barbels under its chin.

However, perhaps the Mary River turtle's most unusual feature is its ability to breath through its genitals.

The turtle has gill-like organs within its cloaca - a multi-purpose orifice used by reptiles for excretion and mating - that allow it to stay underwater for up to three days.

The turtle, which measures up to 40 cm, lives in just one location - the Mary River in Queensland, Australia.

Its docile nature - more hippy than punk - historically made it a popular pet. In the 1960s and 1970s its nest sites were mercilessly pillaged for the pet trade.

Today, the Mary River turtle is one of the world's most endangered turtle species.

The turtle is just one of many weird and wonderful species featured in the Zoological Society of London Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (Edge) Reptiles list.

The Edge programme uses a complex formula to award a threat score to unusual species at risk of extinction.

Reptiles often receive the short end of the stick in conservation terms, compared with the likes of birds and mammals. However, the Edge reptiles list highlights just how unique, vulnerable and amazing these creatures really are. Just as with tigers, rhinos and elephants, it is vital we do our utmost to save these unique and too often overlooked animals. Many Edge reptiles are the sole survivors of ancient lineages whose branches of the Tree of Life stretch back to the age of the dinosaurs. If we lose these species, there will be nothing like them left on Earth.</s>The Zoological Society of London has put together a new list of “weird and wonderful” reptiles, but unfortunately a place on this roster is bad news.

As part of their groundbreaking Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) of existence program, which is dedicated to highlighting and protecting some of the world’s most unusual creatures, ZSL created a EDGE Reptiles List to mark which reptiles are most at risk of going extinct, so scientists and conservations can channel their efforts to help the species that need it the most.

Among the critters to be placed on this list is the Mary River turtle, who placed at #29 and is known for staying “underwater for up to three days by breathing through its reproductive organs.” Also known as a “butt breather,” according to CNN, this reptile is native to the Mary River in Queensland, Australia.

Along with the odd ability to breathe through its private parts, Mary River turtles also stands out because of the bright green algae that grows on their heads, often forming humorous hairstyles, and for the two distinct spikes up their chins.

Rikki Gumbs, a reptile biologist at Zoological Society London (ZSL), told CNN that part of the reason Mary River turtles are in danger of going instinct is because they were popular as pets in the ’60s and ’70s, which diminished the species’ already small population.

According to The Guardian, the Mary River turtle was given its spot on the list based on a formula that takes into consideration the animals risk of extinction and “its evolutionary isolation.”

Other odd-looking reptiles on the list include the Chaco Side-Necked Turtle at #28, who does have a neck that appears to grow from the side of its shell and the Madagascar Blind Snake at #3, a tiny, skinny, pink snake that almost looks like a stretched out-earthworm.

At the top of the list is the Madagascar Big-Headed Turtle, which is also the most at risk terrestrial vertebrate, according to EDGE.</s>Mary River (Elusor macrurus), a bizarre turtle that breathes with its genitals and boasts a crazy punk-like hairdo on occasions, is on the verge of going extinct.

Endemic to Australia’s Mary River, the short-necked reptile has been witnessing a significant decline in numbers and is now ranked 29th on Zoological Society of London’s “EDGE of Existence" list of most vulnerable reptile species.

The EDGE of Existence program highlights and protects some of the most unique and wonderful species on the planet and has already added creatures like a blind snake, limbless lizard, and world’s largest sea turtle to its list. But, none of these reptiles behave like Mary River.

The 40 cm-long water turtle boasts of wide nostrils, finger-like structures under its chin and literally breathes through its backside, making up something you have never seen or heard of.

Essentially, this is the work of gill-like glands near the creature’s rear-end. The organs process oxygen from surrounding water, allowing it to live underwater for up to three days, without coming up for air, the Guardian reported.

Among other things, some of these turtles even have incredibly long tails, which grows up to 70 percent longer than their shells at times, while a few others have a weird green hairdo. This looks pretty fascinating but is actually the work of algae.

"The Mary River Turtle spends so much time submerged underwater that some individuals become covered in algae—and can end up with some pretty impressive bright green hairstyles!" Rikki Gumbs of the Imperial College London, who helped compile the EDGE reptile list, told AFP.

All this might sound interesting, but it’s worth noting these unique looks and bizarre features are also the cause of Mary River turtle’s downfall.

Nearly half a century ago, people fascinated by the weird turtle started keeping it as a pet. This led to a hunting spree, with pet collectors sending thousands of Mary River hatchlings to different parts of the country every year.

This, combined with the creature’s slow pace to reach sexual maturity and natural habitat destruction, triggered a massive decline in their numbers. Mary River turtles don’t breed until they are 25.

"Reptiles often receive the short end of the stick in conservation terms, compared with the likes of birds and mammals," Gumbs told the Guardian. "Just as with tigers, rhinos, and elephants, it is vital we do our utmost to save these unique and too-often overlooked animals.”

“Many Edge reptiles are the sole survivors of ancient lineages, whose branches of the tree of life stretch back to the age of the dinosaurs. If we lose these species there will be nothing like them left on Earth.”</s>Boasting a green, punk hairdo and the unusual ability to breathe through its backside, an Australian turtle has become famous overnight — but not only for its eccentricity.

Unfortunately, just as many of us are discovering the Mary River Turtle’s tantalizing traits, it has become the latest creature to join the “EDGE of Existence” list of endangered species compiled by the Zoological Society of London.

A native of Queensland, Australia, the turtle was one of 100 reptiles added to the catalog this week.

It lives only in the Mary River from which it took its name.

The inventory has no shortage of weird and wonderful creatures — a limbless lizard, the world’s largest sea turtle, a blind snake, and a chameleon named after Tarzan.

But the Mary River Turtle might just be the strangest of them all.

“The turtle is highly distinctive,” states a ZSL description of the species known to scientists as Elusor macrurus.

It can breathe underwater through specialized glands in butt organs known as cloaca — orifices through which the turtle excretes urine and waste, and lays eggs.

“This turtle is able to spend so much time underwater — up to three days — without coming up for air due to its strange ability to breathe through its bum,” Rikki Gumbs of Imperial College London said.
The Mary River turtle, which is endemic to the Mary River in south-east Queensland, Australia, is added to the Zoological Society of London's list of endangered species.